Preliminary screening of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) germplasm for salinity stress tolerance at the early seedling stage.

Salt stress is one of the major prevalent abiotic stresses. Sorghum is an important fodder crop with considerable tolerance towards salinity. The presence of high genetic variability among sorghum genotypes can be used to obtain the most salt-tolerant genotypes for future perspective. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to assess the effect of different NaCl concentrations (0 mM, 25 mM, 75 mM, 100 mM, 125 mM, 150 mM, 175 mM and 200 mM) on the physiological parameters of twenty sorghum genotypes. The screening was carried out for germination per cent, shoot length, root length, seedling fresh weight, seedling dry weight, and germination speed and salinity tolerance indices under laboratory conditions. A significant reduction in all the growth parameters was observed with increasing salinity concentrations. Data assessment was done based on two-way ANOVA and hierarchical cluster analysis. On the basis of cluster analysis and salinity tolerance indices, genotype SSG-59-3, 2077A, HC308 and PSC1 were assessed as tolerant and SGL87 and NSS1005 as sensitive towards a higher level of salinity stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]