EFFECTS OF IN VITRO SALINITY STRESS ON GROWTH, OSMOLYTE ACCUMULATION, PHOTOSYNTHETIC ACTIVITY, AND MEMBRANE STABILITY OF BLACK CHERRY TOMATO (Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme)
Main Article Content
Abstract
Increasing soil salinity poses a major challenge to global tomato production by impairing seed germination, seedling establishment and physiological performance. Therefore, this study investigted the dose- and time-dependent effects of NaCl stress (0–6 g/L) on in vitro germination, growth, biochemical and correlation parameters of black cherry tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Germination rate declined markedly with salt concentration, falling from 100% at 0 g/L to 80% at 3 g/L and ceasing entirely at 6 g/L. Seedling growth parameters, including fresh and dry biomass, root number and length, leaf number, size and plant height,t were progressively inhibited, with even low salinity (1–2 g/L) reducing root branching and biomass accumulation (p < 0.05) and high salinity (≥ 4 g/L) abolishing detectable growth by week 8. Biochemical assays revealed a concentration-dependent increase in proline content, accompanied by reciprocal declines in photosynthetic rate, total chlorophyll, relative water content and membrane stability index (p < 0.05). Pearson correlation analysis confirmed strong negative associations between NaCl concentration and all measured traits (r = –0.90 to –0.99) and strong positive correlations among germination, growth and physiological metrics (r = 0.93–0.99). These findings highlight the tightly linked, multi-level constraints imposed by salinity and underscore the need for screening salt-tolerant cultivars and testing osmoprotective treatments to improve tomato resilience in saline environments.
Keywords
Black cherry tomato, membrane stability, osmolyte accumulation, photosynthetic performance, salinity stress
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References
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