| Popis: |
Physiological responses of 3 Bajra-Napier (Cenchrus spp., syn. Pennisetum spp.) hybrid varieties, viz. BNH-3, BNH-6, BNH-10, and 1 ttri-specific hybrid (TSH) were tested under different gradients of soil salinity, i.e. Control, 4, 6 and 8 dS/m electric conductivity (EC), in a pot trial. The experiment was laid out in a factorial completely randomized design with 3 replications. Shoot dry weight, root dry weight, root:shoot ratio and chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll and carotenoid concentrations were reduced with increasing salinity level as compared with Control. However, the concentration of Na+ in leaves increased and K+ concentration decreased with increasing salinity level. Physiological parameters, i.e. relative water content (RWC), membrane stability index (MSI), chlorophyll stability index, carotenoid stability index and K+: Na+ ratio, in leaves tended to be higher in the BNH-3 variety than in other varieties. Shoot dry weight showed highly positive significant correlation with RWC, MSI, K+ concentration and K+:Na+ ratio, while it was negatively correlated with Na+ concentration (P |
