This study was conducted to evaluate the salt tolerance of Italian ryegrass varieties by examining growth characteristics and chlorophyll fluorescence in various salt stress environment. Seven varieties were used in this experiment including Kowineary...
This study was conducted to evaluate the salt tolerance of Italian ryegrass varieties by examining growth characteristics and chlorophyll fluorescence in various salt stress environment. Seven varieties were used in this experiment including Kowineary, Greencall, Greenfarm, Greenfarm 3, IR603, IR605, and IR901. Plant cultivation was carried out hydroponically in greenhouses or growth chambers, and plant growth and chlorophyll fluorescence responses were measured. As a result of the initial growth of seven varieties according to salt concentrations, there was no significant difference from the control for Kowineary, Greencall, Greenfarm, and IR605 at a salt concentration of 0.1% to 0.3%, but the growth of Greenfarm 3, IR603, IR901 was significantly increased compared to the control at a salt concentration of 0.1%. At salt concentrations above 0.6%, the growth amount of all s significantly decreased, where IR901, Kowineary, and IR605 had a lower relative reduction rate, but the absolute growth of IR603 was the highest among the varieties. As a result of measuring chlorophyll fluorescence, the OJIP curve for most varieties was similar to the control at salt concentrations of 0.1 to 0.3%, but the amount of chlorophyll fluorescence decreased significantly at salt concentrations of 0.6% or more. Among chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, ABS/RC, TRo/RC, ETo/RC, and DIo/RC values showed a significantly negative correlation with growth amount. In the treatment where the salt concentration was drastically increased, the growth amount, chlorophyll content, and relative water content decreased and the leakage of electrolytes increased, under which environment, the changes of Greenfarm 3 and IR901 were relatively small compared to other varieties. Among the relative ratio of chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, ABS/RC, TRo/RC, and ETo/RC after 1 hour of salt concentration increase, PIABS after 3 hours and 7 days of salt concentration increase showed a significant positive correlation, and DIo/RC after 3 hours and 1 day showed a negative correlation with plant growth. In the treatment where the salt concentration was drastically lowered, plant growth, chlorophyll content, and relative water content increased, and the leakage of electrolytes decreased. The changes of Greenfarm, IR901, and Kowineary were relatively high compared to other varieties. Among the relative ratio of chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, PIABS, ABS/RC, ETo/RC, and DIo/RC after 1 hour, and ABS/RC, ETo/RC, and DIo/RC after 5 hours of salt concentration decrease showed a significant positive correlation with plant growth.
In summary, among the seven varieties, Kowineary and IR901 showed less reduction in relative growth than other varieties under various salt stress environments, and IR603 showed a greater decrease in relative growth, but had the highest absolute growth amount under salt stress condition. In addition, some parameters related to chlorophyll fluorescence showed a significant correlation with plant growth, which could be used as an indicator of plant growth under salt stress.