Growth and mineral constituents of prose millet (Pennisetum glaucum) irrigated with sea water

摘要

The effect of different Sea water salinity levels (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%) on seed germination, seedling growth and mineral ion concentration (K, Ca, Mg, Na, Cl, Fe, Cu, Mn and Mo) of prose millet (Pennisetum glauccum) were studied. Germination of prose millet seed was affected by high salinity levels, the germination percentages were 97, 84, 80, 77 and 57 % for the treatments used 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% sea water, respectively. Plant growth was also affected by salinity; shoot lengths were more pronounced than on root and leaf. The shoot, root and leaf lengths reached their maximum at 50% seawater salinity before them encounter reduction with increasing salinity. The shoot length was reduced 7.2% at 50% and 24.6% at 100% seawater salinity, root length increased 13.9% at 50% and reduced about 4.6% at 100%, while leaf length was only affected by salinity at 100% seawater salinity compared to plants irrigated with freshwater (control).Seawater salinity had a significant effect on mineral ion concentration in prose millet plants. Concentration of K, Ca, Mg and Fe was reduced in the shoot with increasing salinity levels to 39.9- 83.1%, 49.0- 92.2%, 9.9-13.8%, 10.2-33.0%, while Na, Cl, Mn and Mo concentration showed increase in concentration with increasing seawater salinity to 62.3-58.8%, 337.5-4.4%, 0-80%, 22.1-8.1% at 50% and 100% respectively. Also in the root, the concentrations of K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cl, were significantly reduced to values of 56.3-895.3%, 59.4-95.8%, 0-58.5%, 18.5-13.6%, 5.6-85.2%, and that of Na, Mn and Mo increased to values of 64-64%, 25.7-46.6%, 92.7-117.6% at 50% and 100% increase in seawater salinity respectively.