THE RESPONSE TO NaCl AND IONIC CONTENT OF SELECTED SALT–TOLERANT AND NORMAL LINES OF THREE LEGUME FORAGE SPECIES IN SAND CULTURE

Abstract

Selected NaCl‐tolerant lines of Trifolium alexandrinum L., Medicago sativa L., and Trifolium protease L. produced significantly greater dry matter than unselected control lines after 4 weeks of growth in sand culture with different NaCl concentrations. Tolerant lines of all three species generally contained less Na+ but more Cl− in their shoots than normal lines, although these differences were not statistically significant. Selected lines also contained less K+ in their shoots than unselected lines. Ca2+1 distribution was similar in T. allexandrinum and M. sativa but not in T. pratense, in which the tolerant line had significantly higher Ca2+ in the shoot than the unselected line. Copyright © 1986, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved