Impact of Different Types and Levels of Salinity on Early Germination and Growth Parameters of Oryza sativa L. Cv. MR219 seedlings

In order to study salt tolerance in rice (Oryza sativa L.) at early germination stages, MR219 seeds were tested to check tolerance to salinity stress at five different levels which included 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250mM and distilled water was used as control (0mM) with Completely randomized design (CRD) with four replicates. Data were analyzed by two-way Analysis of Variance method (ANOVA), using a Statistical Analysis System (SPSS window, version 22). MR219 seeds were surface sterilized before the experiment. Data were recorded for 14 days focusing on different traits like root and shoot length, fresh weights, biomass, water uptake percentage, germination percentage, seed vigor index, relative injury rate, mean germination time and salt tolerance (ST). Results from the above-mentioned traits showed that salinity affected almost all parameters. MR219 seeds were tolerant to salinity, except 200mM and 250mM of NaCl and 250mM MgSO4 because no germination was observed in these 3 levels that could be seen in relative injury rate due to high level of salinity. Thus, it was proposed in the current experiment that salinity order for MR219 was NaCl then KCl followed by MgSO4 and on the basis of physiological characteristics, MR219 was sensitive to higher saline levels.