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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2017, Vol. 26 ›› Issue (8): 146-153.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2016394

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Seed germination and physiological characteristics of Chenopodium quinoa under salt stress

YANG Hong-Wei1, 2, LIU Wen-Yu3, SHEN Bao-Yun4, LI Chao-Zhou1, 2, *   

  1. 1.College of Life Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China;
    2.Gansu Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics & Germplasm Enhancement, Lanzhou 730070, China;
    3.Animal Husbandry Pasture and Agriculture Institute, Gansu Academy of Agriculture Science, Lanzhou 730070, China;
    4.Jingtai Tiaoshan Research Institute of Agriculture and Forestry, Baiyin 730400, China
  • Received:2016-10-31 Online:2017-08-20 Published:2017-08-20

Abstract: In this study, we evaluated the effects of different concentrations of NaCl on seed germination and seedling growth of Chenopodium quinoa. Seeds and seedlings of C. quinoa were exposed to different concentrations of NaCl, and seed germination, physiological indexes, and biochemical indexes were determined. The germination percentage, germination energy, germination index, and vigor index of C. quinoa seeds decreased as the concentration of NaCl increased. When the concentration of NaCl was 3.0%, none of the quinoa seeds germinated. As the concentration of NaCl increased, the leaf water content decreased, the contents of soluble sugars, proline, malondialdehyde, relative conductance, and O2 production rate increased, and the activities of superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase increased and then decreased. The plant height and stem diameter decreased as the NaCl concentration increased, but root lengths increased and then decreased. The longest root length was in the 1.8% NaCl treatment. In conclusion, seedling growth of C. quinoa was promoted by low concentrations of NaCl, but inhibited by high concentrations of NaCl. The threshold of salt tolerance was 1.8% NaCl.