Sporobolus ioclados (Nees ex Trin.) Nees (Poaceae), a halophytic grass distributed in coastal and inland regions of Pakistan, is a potential forage crop which could be grown in the degraded saline soils of the Indus plain and coastal areas. Greatest germination was obtained in non-saline control and it was linearly reduced with increases in salinity to 500 mM NaCl. Variation in temperature substantially affected germination in both the saline and nonsaline treatments. At the optimal temperature regime of 20:301C, S. ioclados seeds showed 93% germination at 0 mM NaCl and 18% germination at 500 mM NaCl, respectively. In all other temperature regimes, only 50% of the seeds germinated in 0 mM while none germinated at 500 mM NaCl. Rate of germination decreased with an increase in salinity at all temperature regimes but comparatively higher rates were obtained at 20:301C. Seeds showed a low recovery response when transferred to distilled water after 20 days of exposure to salinity and tetrazolium viability test showed that most of the ungerminated seeds were dead. The present study showed that if the seed is protected from salinity and temperature stress during storage in the soil, it could germinate during monsoon rains.
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.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.