Effect of salinity stress on the morpho-physiological and yield components of some lentil genotypes

Abstract

Salt stress is a critical abiotic factor severely limiting crop productivity globally. Development of salt-tolerant genotypes can help address this challenge. Lentil is a very valuable legume, with high-quality proteins. However, it is susceptible to salinity stress. Sustainable lentil production in saline lands imposes crucial efforts to identify lentil germplasm with salinity tolerance. This pot experiment was conducted on six lentil genotypes using two types of soil: sandy and clay. The field capacity was determined for the clay soil after seven hours and for the sandy soil after two hours. The irrigation solution was prepared using saline solutions composed of CaCl2 and NaCl (1:1) at different concentrations (dS∙m−1). The seeds were planted after being sterilised with fungicides, and bacterial inoculation was performed immediately after planting. Salinity stress was applied in stages, and several measurements were taken at different growth stages. The control group was irrigated with fresh water with a concentration of 0.5–0.7 dS∙m−1. The plots were irrigated at 75% of field capacity. The study revealed significant differences among the local lentil genotypes tested at the morphological, physiological, and agronomic levels under salt stress conditions. Genotypes L.7678 and L.7210 showed better seed production capacity at a higher salinity level (4 dS∙m−1), while only genotype L.7678 was able to maintain a good level of this trait at the highest salinity level (6 dS∙m−1). Genotype L.7678 also exhibited significantly higher seed yield and biomass under all salinity levels (i.e., all treatments except the control group).