Comprehensive evaluation of salt tolerance of 479 Brassica juncea germplasm resources at germination stage.

To understand the salt tolerance of different Brassica juncea germplasm resources, this study used Na-Cl solutions with concentrations of 0, 150 mmol/L, 200 mmol/L, and 250 mmol/L to treat 479 B. juncea germplasm resources from different countries under salt stress, and measured germination rate, root length, bud length, and fresh weight; Comprehensive evaluation of the salt tolerance of the test materials was conducted using principal component analysis, membership function, multiple linear regression analysis, and cluster analysis. The results showed that under the treatment of 200 mmol/L NaCl solution, 479 materials could be effectively classified into 4 categories: (1) 12 salt tolerant varieties; (2) 75 moderate salt tolerant varieties; (3) 313 salt tolerant varieties; and (4) 79 salt sensitive varieties. A multiple linear regression equation was established for the identification of salt tolerance in B. juncea, y= 0.537x1+0.310x2+0.089x3+0.064x4. The selected salt tolerant materials lay the foundation for cultivating new salt tolerant B. juncea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]