Issue
Agron. Sustain. Dev.
Volume 25, Number 2, April-June 2005
Page(s) 243 - 249
DOI https://doi.org/10.1051/agro:2005019
Agron. Sustain. Dev. 25 (2005) 243-249
DOI: 10.1051/agro:2005019

Role of the rooting system in salt tolerance potential of different guar accessions

M. Yasin Ashrafa, Kalsoom Akhtarb, G. Sarwara and M. Ashrafb

a  Stress Physiology Lab., Salinity and Environmental Management Division, Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology, PO Box 128, Jhang Road, Faisalabad, Pakistan
b  Dept. of Botany, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

(Accepted 28 January 2005)

Abstract - To examine the role of the rooting system in salt tolerance of 15 guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L.) accessions collected from arid and semi-arid regions of Pakistan, a pot-culture experiment was conducted under natural conditions in a net house. The experiment comprised three salinity treatments, i.e., 3, 9 and 15 dS m-1, with three replications. The results showed that whole plant dry weight, root length, root dry weight and number of nodules decreased due to salinity in all the accessions; however, different guar accessions showed variation in root length, dry weight and number of nodules under normal and stressed conditions. The root morphology revealed that accessions with a longer root, greater root dry weight and higher number of nodules had higher seed yield. A positive relationship was found between the rooting system and seed yield under salt stress. It is concluded that accessions with better rooting systems produced higher seed yield and were more salt-tolerant than others.


Key words: guar / root morphology / nodulation / seed yield / guar and soil salinity

Corresponding author: M. Yasin Ashraf niabmyashraf@hotmail.com

© INRA, EDP Sciences 2005