ASSESSMENT OF MORPHO-PHYSIOLOGICAL TRAITS IN GUAVA GENOTYPES UNDER SALINITY STRESS

Abstract Climate change is leading to soil salinization, which is producing significant reductions in crop yields worldwide. Salinity stress negatively affects the plant growth through various mechanisms. The presence of salinity is a significant challenge to crop cultivation. Hence, it is essential to introduce salt-tolerant genotypes to alleviate the drastic impacts of salinity stress. The present study evaluated the tolerance potential of different guava genotypes to different levels of salt concentrations (0, 8, 12, 16 dS m-1) by examining various traits related to growth, biomass, and physiology. One and half year-old guava plants of twelve different genotypes were grown in plastic pots using soil medium in a screenhouse. The experiment was conducted using a completely randomized design, with three replications. Salinity stress hinderd the growth of guava genotypes, and the degree of inhibition increased with higher salt concentrations. Additionally, the physiological parameters like photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate decreased as the salt concentration increased. The guava genotype “Sadabahar Sufaid Gola” and “Apple Guava” presented good results in terms of growth and physiological parameters under the highest salinity level 16 dS m-1 while the genotypes “Surahi” and “Sufaida” depicted highest reduction in these parameters. These results highlighted the physiological basis and could be promising for the commercial development of salt-tolerant guava genotypes.