Variability for salt tolerance in a collection of <i>Panicum coloratum</i> var. <i>makarikariense</i> during early growth stages

Abstract

Our aim was to investigate variability for salt tolerance in a collection of Panicum coloratum var. makarikariense of INTA EEA Rafaela, Argentina. Panicum coloratum is a C4 perennial grass to be potentially used to increase forage production in areas affected by abiotic factors which reduce their productivity. We evaluated the response of half-sib families from different accessions to increasing salt concentrations under growth chamber conditions. Germination percentage (GP), GP (% of control) and index of germination decreased with increasing salinity, while mean germination time increased (P˂0.001). After being exposed to saline conditions ungerminated seeds were able to recover in distilled water and many germinated. Salt tolerance was more variable between families within accessions than between accessions in all evaluated variables. At the seedling stage, morphological and physiological variables allowed differentiation among families on the basis of salt tolerance. Molecular characterization by ISSR molecular markers demonstrated variability within parent material and grouped families by accessions. A positive but low correlation between morphological and molecular distances was detected (r = 0.24; P = 0.032). Nonetheless, even after selection, enough molecular variability remained within tolerant families grouped by principal components analysis. In summary, materials of P. coloratum var. makarikariense from INTA EEA Rafaela showed both morphological and genetic variability for salinity tolerance and the contrasting genotypes could be used as parent materials to conduct breeding studies to improve salt tolerance in this species.

Evaluation of Multiple Salinity Tolerance Indices for Screening and Comparative Biochemical and Molecular Analysis of Pearl Millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] Genotypes

“…However, only a few studies have evaluated the salt tolerance potential of different genotypes of pearl millet (Supplementary Table S7). Early vegetative growth stage has been reported to be more sensitive to salt stress, as compared to the adult stage (Cardamone et al 2018; Mukhopadhyay et al Dehnavi et al 2020). Abiotic stress during the early vegetative stage is the major cause of grain yield reduction in pearl millet due to the death of the seedlings and poor establishment of the crop (Shivhare and Lata 2017).…”

Combined effect of salinity and hypoxia in seedlings of two varieties of Panicum coloratum: Morphology, root system architecture, oxidative damage and antioxidant response

“…coloratum (Pittaro, 2017) and var. makarikariense (Cardamone et al, 2018) in plants exposed to salinity. In addition, enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidant defences are frequently induced in response to the disruption of ROS homeostasis (Choudhury, Rivero, Blumwald, & Mittler, 2017;Mittler et al, 2011).…”

Los pastos estrella africana, kikuyo y “rye grass” en Cartago, Costa Rica: biomasa, composición botánica y nutrientes

“…El área de cultivo de forraje en Costa Rica equivale al 25% del territorio nacional (INEC, 2015), área cubierta por gramíneas y leguminosas de piso para el pastoreo de los semovientes y en sistemas de corta y acarreo. Por sus características inherentes, se pueden agrupar por pisos altitudinales, resistencia a enfermedades y plagas (Castillo, 2006), adaptabilidad a suelos con pH bajos (Jiménez, Granados, Oliva, Quiroz, & Barrón, 2010), alta salinidad (Cardamone, Cuatrín, Grunberg, & Tomás, 2018) y humedad. Como meta, los sistemas de producción buscan optimizar la relación entre productividad por hectárea del cultivo y aporte efectivo de nutrimentos.…”