Germination Characters as Affected by Salinity Stress and Soaking Grain Sorghum Genotypesin Humic acid

In order to investigate salinity stress on sorghum germination indices, an experiment conducted in the Faculty of Agriculture, Mansoura University from June and July 2017 in Agronomy Department, Seed Science Laboratory. The goals of the investigation aimed to screening for five (Sorghum bicolor L.(Moench) cultivarsviz. Dorado, hybrid 306, Giza 15, Mecca hybrid and H-305 under salinity stress, sodium chloride (Na Cl) at the levels of 0 (as control), 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 dS/m-1 and soaking in humic acid. The results showed that soaking seed in humic acid exceeded percentage of germination, germination rate, germination index, energy of germination and chlorophyll content by 5.2, 7.7, 17.1, 65.8 and 17.8 %, respectively. The highest germination percentage (91.9 %), germination rate (3.08), germination energy (59.7), seedling vigor index (1483.7) and chlorophyll content (2.88) were obtained from sown Mecca hybrid. The maximum germination index (117.22) was obtainedfrom sown Giza 15 cultivar.The results point out that cumulative salinity level from 3 to 15 dSm-1condensedall studied germination characters. Accumulative salinity levels to 15 dSm-1condensedpercentage of germination, germination rate, index of germination, germination energy and seedling vigor index by 15.9, 15.0, 30.0, 35.9 and 37.6 %, respectively compared without salinity application. It could recommended that soaking sorghum seed of Meeca hybrid with humic acid for 12 h under salinity of concentration of 6 dSm-1 enhanced germination characters compared with other cultivars and salinity concentrations, it mean cultivated it under reclaimed saline soil in Egypt.