The Role of Calcium in Enhancing of Bread Wheat, Triticum aestivum L. Tolerance to Salinity Stress and its Effect on Improving Growth Indicators and Seedling Growth

This study was conducted to assess the role of calcium in increasing wheat tolerance to salt stress. Wheat seeds were soaked in calcium chloride solution at concentrations of 0, 50 and 100 mg/L. Following this treatment, seeds were exposed to sodium chloride solution at concentrations of 0, 50 and 100 mg/L. The study examined several growth parameters, including seedling vigor, seed vigor, plumule length, radicle length, and the fresh and dry weight of plumules and radicles. Results obtained indicated a decline in seedling vigor, seed vigor, plumule length, radicle length, and the fresh and dry weights of plumule and radicle when wheat seeds were treated with sodium chloride at concentrations of 50 and 100 mg/L. Conversely, treating wheat seeds with calcium at concentrations of 50 and 100 mg/L led to a significant increase in plumule and radicle length. However, calcium treatment at these concentrations resulted in a significant decrease in seedling vigor index, as well as the fresh and dry weights of the radicle. Furthermore, the study showed variation in all studied characteristics except for the germination rate, primarily due to the interaction between sodium and calcium at the specified concentrations. Keywords: Salinity stress, calcium, plumule, radical, germination, wheat, physiological diseases.