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Physiological response of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) at early seedling stage under salt stress conditions

Screening of chickpea lines for salt tolerance through seed germination and early seedling growth is crucial for their evaluation. Seeds of 30 chickpea genotypes were germinated on a sand bed irrigated with saline (3, 6, 9, 12 dS/m) and control solutions upto 30 days. At the early seedling stage (25-30 days), germination percentage, chlorophyll content, proline, root length, shoot length and seedling dry weight were found to be affected due to salinity. Salt tolerance index (STI) for plant biomass maintained a significant correlation with chlorophyll, proline, shoot length, and root length, which indicated that these parameters could be used as selection criteria for screening chickpea genotypes against salt stress. Significant differences in shoot length, root length, and seedling dry weight in 30-day-old seedlings were observed among selected chickpea genotypes as well. From the overall observation of germination characterstics and early seedling growth, it is concluded that the chickpea genotypes, HC-1, HC-5, ICC 867, ICC 5003, H-10-41 showed better salt tolerance as compared to the available salt tolerant check variety.