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The germination requirements of four perennial halophytic grasses, Aeluropus lagopoides, Halopyrum mucronatum, Sporobolus ioclados, and Urochondra setulosa, were studied under control conditions in the laboratory. Treatments included two light levels (12 : 12 h light : dark period and 24-h dark environment), six salinity concentrations (0, 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 mmol/L NaCl), and four temperature regimes (fluctuating day : night temperature regimes of 10° : 20°, 15° : 25°, 20° : 30° and 25° : 35°C), using a completely randomized block design. Best seed germination of all grasses was obtained in a distilled water control. Increase in salinity progressively inhibited germination of all species. For example, few seeds of H. mucronatum germinated above 300 mmol/L NaCl, while seeds of the other grasses germinated in up to 500 mmol/L NaCl. Optimal temperature regime for germination for all species was 20° : 30°C both for light- and dark-germinated seeds. At higher temperatures differences between light and dark treatments were not significant. Absence of light had no effect on the seed germination of U. setulosa and H. mucronatum; however, germination was lower in all salinity treatments. In the case of A. lagopoides, absence of light substantially inhibited the germination both in control and saline conditions. The light effect was marked in the case of S. ioclados, which showed very low germination in the absence of light both under saline and nonsaline conditions.

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Seed germination of desert shrubs (Atriplex griffithii Moq., Haloxylon recurvum (Moq.) Bunge ex Boiss, Suaeda fruticosa (L.) Forssk., Triglochin maritima L.), and a forb (Zygophyllum simplex L.) was studied under various light, temperature, and salinity regimes. Seed germination of Atriplex griffithii, Z. simplex, and Suaeda fruticosa was least affected by light, whereas, seeds of H. recurvum and T. maritima had a light requirement for germination. Haloxylon recurvum seeds did not germinate at 10–20 °C in the dark, and no T. maritima seeds germinated in dark at all thermoperiod and salinity regimes studied. Seed germination was inhibited in all species with an increase in salinity, and this inhibition was more substantial in dark than in light. Key words: Atriplex griffithii, halophyte, Haloxylon recurvum, light, seed germination, Suaeda fruticosa, Triglochin maritima, thermoperiod, Zygophyllum simplex.