SALINITY EFFECTS ON SEED GERMINATION OF TWO POTENTIAL HORTICULTURAL SPECIES (PHYSALIS PERUVIANA AND ARTEMISIA HERBA-ALBA)

Salinity stress presents a challenging encounter to seed germination, deeply impacting plant establishment, particularly in regions characterized by arid and semiarid conditions.This study investigates the effect of varying NaCl concentrations on the seed germination of two multipurpose plant species, Artemisia herba-alba and Physalis peruviana.Through controlled experimental protocols, we evaluated critical germination attributes, including final germination percentage (FGP), mean germination time (MGT), time to 50% germination (T 50 ) and germination tolerance index (GTI).After 22 days of saline treatment, our results revealed distinct responses for each species to salinity stress.A. herba-alba demonstrated a moderate sensitivity, with FGP declining from 67.3% at 0 mM NaCl to 10.7% at 200 mM NaCl, whereas P. peruviana exhibited remarkable tolerance, maintaining a consistently high FGP of 100% across all NaCl concentrations except for the concentration of 200 mM (36.7%).Statistical analysis employing two-way ANOVA underscore the significant main effects of salinity, species, and their interactions on seed germination parameters.This study highlights the imperative of understanding species-specific adaptive strategies to mitigate salinity-induced inhibitions on seed germination.These insights advance our comprehension of seed responses to environmental stress and hold implications for the conservation, cultivation, and management of A. herba-alba and P. peruviana in saline-affected ecosystems.