Salt tolerance in Stylosanthes guianensis botanical varieties

Abstract

The study of Stylosanthes guianensis botanical varieties (canescens, microcephala, pauciflora and vulgaris) during seed germination and early seedling growth aimed to characterize the varieties in relation to NaCl tolerance. During germination the seeds were submitted to a gradient of NaCl solutions ranging from zero to 268 mmol. Percentage and speed of germination were analyzed. During early growth the seedlings were grown in nutrient solutions with the following NaCl concentrations: 0, 40, 60, 80 and 20 mmol L-. The variety pauciflora presented the highest tolerance to NaCl during germination. NaCl was highly toxic to the seeds, and the varieties presented broad genetic variability of this character. During early growth the four varieties were susceptible to NaCl.Additional keywords: Stylosanthes; germination; early growth; forage legume.