The effects of irrigation water salinity on the seed germination and seedling growth of rice

Abstract

To determine the effects of irrigation water salinity on seed germination and seedling development of two rice cultivars, irrigation waters with low SAR (below 3) were prepared in different salinity levels (control [0.5], 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 dS m-1) from different salinity sources (NaCl, MgS04, and CaCl2 salts). The average germination rate was decreased for the cv. Baldo 20.19%, while for cv. Osmanc?k - 97 it was 26.73%. The average of the single seedling dry weight of cv. Baldo was 0.2666 g, while for cv. Osmanc?k-97 it was 0.2569 g. The average single seedling dry weight was 0.2940 g in the control application. In parallel to the increased irrigation water salinity level, the single seedling dry weight decreased. The irrigation water salinity had not affected up to 4 dS m- 1 in terms of the germination rate decrease and the single seedling dry weight of rice, but it started to be affected when increased salinity level to 8 dS m-1 and it was more effective at higher doses. Also, cv. Osmanc?k-97 was more sensitive to irrigation water salinity than cv. Baldo. In conclusion, it turns out that the irrigation water to be used in rice farming should not have salinity since the tolerance of the rice plant against irrigation water salinity is low.