Soil salinity is one of the major environmental factors limiting plant growth and development; and it is considered a problem in arid and semiarid regions, where rainfall is insufficient to leach salts. The clove pink, Dianthus caryophyllus L. is a major product in Jordan with different irrigation needs and has the capacity to cope with water deficit. Consequently, the current study aimed at investigating the effect of salinity on certain growth, physiological and mineral parameters of two varieties of D. caryophyllus (Bizet Sagr and Grand Slam Hygr). The experiments were conducted under greenhouse conditions at the University of Jordan during the 2015/2016 growing season. The plants were grown in either soil or zeolitic tuff at five salinity levels. The results indicated that the growth parameters of both D. caryophyllus varieties vary significantly among the different salinity levels in both growing media. Increasing salinity caused a significant reduction in plant height, fresh and dry weights, flower length and diameter, and a delayed flowering time. Increasing salinity level caused also a significant reduction in leaf greenness, fluorescence yield, and relative water content, and increased stomatal resistance of both plant varieties in both growing media. Increasing salinity level caused a significant increase in Na and Cl, and a decrease in K, P, and N concentrations in plants of both tested varieties and media. In conclusion, salinity caused a significant effect on all tested growth, physiological and mineral parameters of D. caryophyllus. An appropriate irrigation regime should be used as a key to success in ornamentals’ growth control.
As a result of the decreasing availability of high-quality irrigation water, the salinity tolerance of cut flowers is of increasing importance. The influence of salinity on the growth and quality of Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum morifolium L. grown in two different media under four salinity levels was evaluated. C. morifolium plants were grown in plastic pots containing either zeolitic tuff or soil as potting media. Seedlings of C. morifolium were subjected to four NaCl/CaCl2 salinity levels (2, 4, 6, and 8 dS.m-1). The effect of increasing salinity level on growth, flowering characteristics, time to flower, length and diameter of flowering shoots, and the diameter of the terminal flower on each stem were evaluated. On termination of the experiment, plant height, two perpendicular canopy widths, and fresh and dry weights of shoots were measured. Results indicated that most of all measured characteristics were reduced in response to increasing salinity levels. Increasing salinity levels caused significant reductions in plant height, fresh and dry yield, and relative water content. Moreover, salinity reduced flower quality (color, size, stem thickness, and length) and yield. Also, some physiological changes occur in stomatal conductance, leaf relative water content, and chlorophyll content. C. morifolium plants showed a good salinity resistance by irrigating plants with saline water up to 4 dS.m-1. Significant differences in C. morifolium plant responses were also detected between soil and zeolitic tuff media for most tested characteristics, in which using zeolitic tuff as rowing media was better to cope with higher salinity levels than plants grown in soil. In conclusion, it is recommended to use zeolitic tuff instead of soil when water salinity is a problem in irrigation water.
The relationship among six Jordanian almond landraces was studied using morphological traits and RAPD analyses. Across six almond landraces studied, nut shape, kernel size, nut length, nut size, and shell length That showed a high level of variation (CV>30%), while kernel length, shell width, internodes length, and nut width showed comparatively low values (CV<20%). Principal component analysis showed that the first five components explained all morphological variation among the landraces investigated. Kernel and nut traits were predominant in the first three components contributing to most of the total variation that existed among landraces. Euclidean distance was used to construct clusters from morphological data which allocated individuals into two main groups with a distance ranging from 5.5 to 10.14. Hajari, Hami Hallo, and Mukhmaly with small fruit sizes composed one main cluster, while the other three landraces (Oga, Fark, and Abu Dabos) with large fruit sizes composed the other main cluster. Out of 62 pre-screened RAPD primers, 12 with reproducible bands and maximum polymorphism were selected for diversity analysis. Seventy-one bands were scored with 28 of them being the polymorphic. Average value of polymorphism/primer ranged from 20% to 74.2%. Nei's genetic distance coefficient ranged from 0.5 to 0.85 with an average of 0.70. Molecular analysis revealed inconsistent separation among the landraces compared with that based on morphological traits. Although landraces found during the screening in the Ajloun area are limited in number, but considerable variation was observed both at morphological and DNA levels indicating that Jordanian almond landraces are rich and valuable genetic materials for almond improvement.
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