Evaluation of seedling selection for salinity tolerance in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

Abstract

Salt-tolerance in potato (Solanum tuberosum L .) was selected on the basis of germination and survival of seed sown in trays of perlite suspended in either 75 or 150 mM NaCl . Salinity reduced the germination of seed . Genetic differences in salt-tolerance were apparent with salt reducing germination more in seed collected from cv . Cara than in that collected from cv. Maris Piper. Progeny from the seedling selection were then grown to maturity to produce tubers .The relative tolerance of the parental cultivars and of unselected and selected progeny to long-term exposure to salinity was examined in a pot experiment in which plants were irrigated with either fresh water or 50 mM NaCl solution from one week after plant emergence . In this experiment, salinity significantly reduced leaf conductance, total dry matter production and partitioning of assimilate to tubers . Salinity reduced dry matter production and assimilate partitioning to tubers to a greater extent in Cara than in M . Piper. Progeny selected for short-term salttolerance did not exhibit greater long-term salt-tolerance than unselected progeny, and both were more sensitive than M . Piper.These results demonstrate genetic variation in salt-tolerance in potato . However, although there was a correlation between the performance of the parent to long-term salinity and survival of progeny in the seedling selection, there was no correlation between short-and long-term salt-tolerance . This suggests that characters underlying short-term tolerance may contribute to long-term tolerance but do not of themselves confer long-term tolerance . Future progress in selecting for improved salt-tolerance depends on understanding the effects of salinity on the physiological processes underlying growth and carbon partitioning .

Potato Responds to Salt Stress by Increased Activity of Antioxidant Enzymes

“…This indicates that Kennebec is a relatively salt‐tolerant cultivar compared with Concord, which is very sensitive to salt. This is in agreement with the findings of Jefferies (1996), who proposed that genetic variations in salt tolerance exist in potato cultivars. The reduction in growth parameters under salt stress in both potato cultivars in our experiments confirmed previous studies that potato was a relatively salt‐sensitive crop (Backhosen et al 2005).…”

Effect of salt stress on some chemical components and yield of potato

“…Levy (1992) and Jefferies (1996) reported that salinity retarded the germination of seed tuber or true potato seeds. In this experiment, the plants failed to achieve full emergence at higher salt levels due to the rot of the seed tubers in the saline soil over a long period of time.…”

Assessment of Salt Tolerance in Transgenic Potato Carrying AtNHX1 Gene

“…However, the capacity for salt tolerance in transgenic plants is often affected by the inserted position on the host genomes, the copy number of the insertions, and the methylation status of the AtNHX1 gene (Tian et al, 2011). A number of methods involving different morphological and physiological parameters have been used to evaluate the salt tolerance of plants ( Jefferies, 1996;Shaterian et al, 2008), but a standardized method for the evaluation of salt tolerance has not been established due to limited knowledge of the genetic and physiological mechanisms responsible for salt tolerance in different plant species. Many growth traits and the associated physiological parameters to salt pathways have been considered to be critical for salt tolerance ( Jefferies, 1996;Katerji et al, 2003;Shaterian et al, 2008;Tian et al, 2011), yet any single growth trait has not been proven to be powerful enough in differentiating the salt tolerance of different plants (Mansour et al, 2005;Hu et al, 2007;Munns and Tester, 2008).…”

“…However, a systematic evaluation of the salt tolerance of such transgenic potato is lacking. Furthermore, survival rate has been used in the evaluation of salt tolerance in potato breeding ( Jefferies, 1996), and total chlorophyll and proline contents and Na + in leaves are considered as the indicators of enhanced salt tolerance in transgenic plants (Tian et al, 2011;Donia et al, 2012). Furthermore, survival rate has been used in the evaluation of salt tolerance in potato breeding ( Jefferies, 1996), and total chlorophyll and proline contents and Na + in leaves are considered as the indicators of enhanced salt tolerance in transgenic plants (Tian et al, 2011;Donia et al, 2012).…”

“…In some studies with potato, plant height and leaf area are used as the indicators of plants' salt tolerance, whereas in other studies tuber yield is suggested to be the key factor for the assessment of salt tolerance (Shaterian et al, 2008;Levy and Tai, 2013). Furthermore, survival rate has been used in the evaluation of salt tolerance in potato breeding ( Jefferies, 1996), and total chlorophyll and proline contents and Na + in leaves are considered as the indicators of enhanced salt tolerance in transgenic plants (Tian et al, 2011;Donia et al, 2012). However, those published studies typically use a single or fewer plant-growth traits in the evaluation of salt tolerance, which often gives inadequate and biased results, as different plant species vary in their mechanisms responsible for salt tolerance.…”