Advances in Crop Science and Technology
Open Access

Research Article

A Study on Germination Rate, Dry Matter Weight and Amylase Activity of Medicago sativa L. (alfalfa) under Induced NaCl Stress

Nadiya A Al-Saady1*, Akhtar J Khan2 and Lakshmi R2
1The Research Council, P.O. Box 1422, Muscat, Oman
2Department of Crop Sciences, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box-34, Al-Khod 123, Oman
Corresponding Author :	Nadiya A Al-Saady The Research Council P.O. Box 1422, Muscat, Oman E-mail: nadiya.alsaady@trc.gov.om
Received April 15, 2013; Accepted August 24, 2013; Published August 27, 2013
Citation: Al-Saady NA, Khan AJ, Lakshmi R (2013) A Study on Germination Rate, Dry Matter Weight and Amylase Activity of Medicago sativa L. (Alfalfa) under Induced NaCl Stress. Adv Crop Sci Tech 1:108. doi:10.4172/2329-8863.1000108
Copyright: © 2013 Al-Saady NA, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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Different Omani alfalfa cultivars were exposed to NaCl concentration in the range of 4, 6, 8 and 10 dSm^-1 to measure germination, vegetative growth and amylase activity. The results showed moderate tolerance of alfalfa against salt stress. Alfalfa genotypes A215 and A29 appeared to be more tolerant than all other 8 genotypes. Dry matter stress index (DSMI) were calculated which varied from 0.2 to 1.2 with a high index value for 8 dSm^-1 than the other NaCl dilutions. The amylase activity was found to be directly proportional to the salt stress. Thus the results showed that alfalfa is moderately tolerant to salinity especially A29 and A215 genotypes, which can be recommended for cultivation in semi arid regions.

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