Determination of germination and seedling growth parameters of rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties under stress conditions

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is an important food for more than half of the world’s population. Globally, rice is grown on approximately 160 million hectares with an average annual production of 740.96 million tonnes. Salinity is an important abiotic factor for germination. In this study rice varieties were analysed for salt stress tolerance at germination growth stage. The response of eight rice varieties against six (0, 25, 50, 75, 100, 150 mM NaCl) salinity levels were studied at germination stage. Seeds of eight rice varieties (‘Yatkin’, ‘Miss-2013 Passali’, ‘Kale’, ‘Manyas Yildizi’, ‘Efe’, ‘Biga Incisi’ and ‘Osmancik-97’) were kept under six salt stress levels. Number of seeds germinated (number), germination rate (%), average germination time, fresh and dry weight of germinated seeds (g), fresh and dry weight of the coleoptile (g), fresh and dry weight of the radicle (g), the length of the coleoptile and radicle (mm) were recorded. The results showed that with increasing salt stress, germination in all the varieties was delayed. The increase in salt stress also reduced every measured trait significantly in all the varieties. Maximum germination percentage (100%) was observed in ‘Biga Incisi’ under all the salt stress levels. Our research data would be helpful for identification of the tolerant varieties which can be studied further in terms of economically.