Morphological characteristics of different mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus L.) accessions in response to salt stress under nursery conditions

Abstract

Background and Objective: Pistacia lentiscus L. (Anacardiaceae mastic tree or lentisk) is a bush playing an important role in the Mediterranean maquis ecosystem. For this purpose, a study on different accessions of mastic tree was carried out in Southern Italy to define the variability of characters related to morphology and survival under salt stress conditions. Methodology: This was study evaluated under nursery conditions the growing responses of 10 accessions of P. lentiscusto 6 different levels of salinization obtained by adding 0, 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 g of salts 100 L-1 of substrate, respectively. The following parameters were recorded; plant height, survival of plants and total root length, total biomass, number of leaves per plant and leaf area. Results: The results showed that P. lentiscuscan well tolerate salt at high concentrations when grown under nursery conditions. Furthermore, among the investigated germplasm, a different plant accessions response to salt stress was observed. Conclusion: Thus, by identifying of mastic tree accessions more tolerant to salty soil and the revegetation of degraded agricultural lands can be attained.