Effect of salinity on growth of five natural populations of Atriplex halimus L. in Morocco

Abstract

Growth of the Atriplex halimus L. were measured to compare the effects of 0, 150, 300 and 450 mM NaCl, KCl, Na2SO4 or K 2SO4. Plant height, number of leaves, fresh mass and dry mass were measured. The results showed differences in plant growth responses according to K+ and Na+ salts. In general, K+ salts exhibited higher inhibition to growth than Na+ salts. Another goal of this study is a comparison the response of NaCl salt at five Moroccan populations. The result indicated the existence of a highly significant variability between populations. At each concentration, population SB that comes from a locality by the Atlantic Ocean, showed the mildest effect of salinity. In contrast, the strongest inhibitory effect on growth was observed in population SE originated from a continental site. © 2008 Asian Network for Scientific Information.