Impact of salt stress on sett germination and subsequent seedling growth of sugarcane: influence of GA3 on imparting salt tolerance.

摘要

A pot culture experiment was conducted by using three treatments, i.e. control, soil EC of 7 ds/m and salt + 150 ppm GA3 as sett treatment, on four genotypes of sugarcane, namely C 92038, Co 85004, Si 94050 and Co 85036. Soil EC in the treated pots were monitored at fortnightly intervals and salinization was done when required to maintain EC of 6-8 ds/m. Results indicated that salt stress not only affect sett germination but also subsequent seedling growth (leaf growth, plant height, tiller productivity and total dry matter production). However, application of GA3 mitigated the negative effect of salinity and improved the physiological efficiency of sugarcane, particularly the salt-sensitive genotypes Co 85036 and Si 94050. Overall, C 92038 and Co 85004 performed better than the other cultivars in terms of sett germination, plant height, tiller productivity, leaf area index and total dry matter production..