International Journal of Agriculture and Crop Sciences.

Available online at www.ijagcs.com

IJACS/2013/5-22/2669-2676
ISSN 2227-670X 2013 IJACS Journal

Effects of Salinity Stress on seed germination and

seedling vigor indices of two Halophytic Plant
Species (Agropyron elongatum and A. pectiniforme)
Abbasian Ashkan1 and Moemeni Jalal2
Seed and plant certification & registration institute, Iran-Karaj

Corresponding author email: abbasianashkan@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT: Screening for seeds with a greater tolerance to salt stress aids in the development of salt
tolerant cultivars. Seed germination is a critical point in seedling establishment and subsequent plant
health and vigor. The objective of this study was to compare the salinity tolerance of ten ecotypes of two
halophytic species (Agropyron elongatum and A. pectiniforme). Salinity treatments consisted of 4
treatments of 0 (control), 50, 100 and 200mM NaCl. 20 seeds of each ecotype were grown in Petri dishes
on filter papers. A factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with 3 replications was
conducted. The results showed that by increasing of the salinity level, germinated seeds number, root,
shoot and seedling length, shoot and seedling fresh weight, mean daily germination (MDG) and seedling
length vigor index (SLVI) decreased, while daily germination speed (DGS) increased in all studied
ecotypes. Additionally the ecotypes of A. elongatum were more resistant to salinity stress in comparison
to the species of another species. The minimum germination rate between these ecotypes was related to
3202, while between the salinity treatments the maximum germination rate was observed in 6990
ecotype. Only in control treatment, the maximum germination rate was related to 7819 ecotype by 100%.
There was a negative correlation between two indices of mean time to germination (MTG) and DGS and
other indices.
Keywords: Salinity, salt stress, germination, vigor, vigor indices, Agropyron elongatum, Agropyron
pectiniform.

INTRODUCTION

The two major environmental factors that reduce plant productivity are drought and salinity (Flowers, et al.,
1997). Salinity is one of the most important environmental factors limiting crop production of marginal agricultural
soils in many parts of the world. This reduction in growth observed in many plants subjected to salinity stress, is
often correlated with salt-induced osmotic effect, nutrient deficiency or specific ion toxicity (Munns, 2002). Seeds
may be more sensitive to stresses than mature plants because of exposure to the dynamic environment close to
the soil surface. The response of seeds to salinity can be stimulated by NaCl induced ionic stress in the
germination experiments (Dodd, et al., 1999). Ionic stress is caused by a toxic accumulation of NaCl in plant
tissues. Germination rates decrease with an increase in NaCl concentration (Murillo-Amador, et al., 2002).
Root hair formation is also reduced by increased solute concentration in the germinating environment. Root
hairs are critical in nutrient extraction from the rhizosphere, and reduction in root hair formation inhibits seedling
establishment. Screening for seeds with a greater tolerance to salt stress aids in the development of salt tolerant
cultivars.
Growth and survival of plants at high salinity levels depends on adaptation to both low water potentials and high
sodium concentrations. Excess sodium and chloride ions imbalance have a deleterious effect on many cellular
systems (Zhu, et al., 1999).
Salinity in soil or water is one of the major stresses (especially in arid and semi arid regions) that can severely
limit crop production (Shannon, 1998). Salinity impairs seed germination, reduces nodule formation, retards plant
development and reduces crop yield (Greenway and Munns, 1980). Seedling establishment is a critical stage in
crop production and considerably depends on biochemical and physiological structures of seed. In order to obtain
Intl J Agri Crop Sci. Vol., 5(22), 2669-2676, 2013

fast and good establishment of seedling, high vigor seed is needed to provide essential nutrients for seedling until it
becomes established and can photosynthesize independently (Dereck-Bewley and Black, 1994). Successful
seedling establishment depends on the frequency and the amount of precipitation as well as the ability of the seed
species to germinate and grow while soil moisture and osmotic potentials decrease (Roundy, 1987). Germination
and seedling characteristics are the most viable criteria used for selecting salt tolerances in plants (Boubaker,
1996).
Salinity can affect growth and yield of most crops, high salinity is known to cause both hyper ionic and hyper
osmotic effects in plants, leading to membrane disorganization, increase in activated oxygen species production
and metabolic toxicity (Joseph and Jini, 2011).
In a green house experiment was observed that dry weights of the roots and the shoots in Agropyron elongatom
were more than that of Agropyron desertorum and Hordeum fragilis (Askarian, 2004). While salinity resistance,
shoot height and root length of Agropyron desertorum was more than that of Agropyron elongatom (Kachout, et al.,
2009). The results of some studies (Favad, et al., 2002 and Karimi et al., 2005) showed that Agropyron elongatom
had high resistance to salinity. Soil salinity caused reduction in shoot height, shoot dry weight, shoot fresh weight,
root dry weight and root fresh weight at various stages of phenology in Agropyron elongatom (Sanadgol, 2002).
The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of salinity tolerance of two Agropyron species during seed
germination and early seedling growth.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This study was conducted in the central seed analysis laboratory of seed and plant certification & registration
institute of Iran. Ten ecotypes of two Agropyron species were chosen based on the relative salt sensitivities (table
1). A factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with 3 replications was conducted. Salinity
treatments consisted of 4 treatments of 0 (control), 50, 100 and 200mM NaCl. For the seed germination test in the
laboratory, 20 seeds of each ecotype were planted in Petri dishes on the moistened germination papers. Then, the
Petri dishes were placed in a germinator under alternating 20-30 C temperature. An initial seed germination count
was made after 5 days and a final count after 12 days. The salts were dissolved in distilled water in the laboratory
as the stock saline solutions, prepared in high concentration level. Then, the desired salinity levels were made in a
separate container with trial and error method. Finally, for each level of salinity the solution volume was calculated.
The salinity treatments at 4 levels [0 (control), 50, 100 and 200mM NaCl] were made with this method. The dry
weight was measured after oven drying the plants at 60 C for 48 hours. The dry weights of the roots and shoots
and seedling were also determined in gr, separately.
Finally ten normal seedlings were selected randomly and seedling, root and shoot length and dry and fresh
weight were calculated. In order to evaluate germination time and speed, Petri dishes were checked daily and
number of germinated seeds was recorded. By daily counting of germinated seeds, seed germination and seedling
vigor indices was calculated as following:

Mean time to germination (MTG)

Mean time to germination is an index of seed germination speed and velocity (Ellis and Roberts, 1981), and
calculated by:
nd
1) MTG
n
n: number of germinated seeds during seven days, d: number of day(s), n : total of germinated seeds

Mean daily germination (MDG)

This is an index of daily germination speed and calculated by:
FGP
2) MDG
d
FGP: final germination percent d: test period

Daily germination speed (DGS)

This index is converse of mean daily germination and calculated by:

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1
3) DGS :
MDG
Coefficient of velocity of germination (CVG)
This is another index of seed germination speed and velocity (Scott, et al.1984), and calculated by:
G1 G2 G3 ... Gn
4)CVG
1 G1 2 G2 ... n Gn
G1-Gn: number of germinated seeds from the first to the last day

Germination speed
Germination speed calculated by this formula (ISTA, 1999):

5) Germination rate=

Seedling vigor index

After measuring of seedling, shoot and root length, fresh and dry weight traits, seedling weight and length vigor
indices, were determined by following formula:
Seedling length vigor index (SLVI)= (mean shoot length + mean root length) FGP
Seedling weight vigor index (SWVI)= mean seedling weight FGP
Regression analysis, analysis of variance and comparing correlation coefficients was conducted using SAS
software (Version 9.0), and means were compared by Fisher's Least Significant Difference (LSD) test at 1% and
5% probability levels.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The ecotypes of A. elongatum were more resistant to salinity stress in comparison to the ecotypes of A.
pectiniforme (table 3).
/There was a significant difference between various ecotypes of each salinity level. The minimum germination
rate between these ecotypes was related to the 3202, while between the salinity treatments the maximum
germination rate was observed in 6990 ecotype. Only in control treatment, the maximum germination rate was
related to the 7819 ecotype by 100%. Some ecotypes showed the maximum germination in control treatment (e.g.
7819, 8754 and 225), while in some ecotypes even by increasing the salinity level to 150mM, germination rate was
increased in comparison to control (e.g. 6990 and 62). Decrease in germination by increasing of salinity level was
possibly due to reduced soluble osmotic potential, high toxic ions and seed nutrient imbalance. The results of this
study are similar in line with the results of Xiao- Fang, et al (2000). Additionally, interaction of salinity and ecotype
was statistically significant (P0.01). By increasing of salinity level, germination rate and speed of pasture seeds
like other crops decreases. But the decline trend of germination speed is higher than germination rate (Davazdah-
Emami, 2002). Golparvar and Karimi (2011) by studying of 10 Agropyron desertorum genotypes originally collected
from different areas of Iran with varying environmental conditions along with five different concentrations of NaCl
solution, observed a considerable variation in all the germination attributes such as germination percentage and
rate as well as seedling fresh and dry weights under salt stress. In another experiment was observed that
germination percentage of Agropyron trichophorum decreased with increasing stress level so that germination
percentage decreased from 92% in control treatment to 54% in high stress treatment (-0.8 MPa) (Rahmati and
Farshadfar, 2012).
The root and shoot lengths are the most important parameters for salt stress, because roots are in direct
contacts with soil and absorb water from soil and supply it to the rest of the plant. For this reason root and shoot
length provides an important clue plant response to salt stress (Jamil and Rha, 2004). The root, shoot and seedling
length showed a highly significant difference among various ecotypes in different salinity levels. By increasing of
the salinity level the length of root, shoot and seedling was decreased. Interaction of salinity and ecotype of root,
shoot and seedling length was also showed a highly significant difference. Apparently ion active uptake by roots
against concentration gradient needs energy, so it may be one of the reasons of root length decrease in salinity
treatments. The minimum length and fresh and dry weight of root, shoot, and seedling in 100 and 200mM salinity
levels was observed in the 3202 ecotype. While the maximum amount of these traits in 200mM salinity level was

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related to the 6990 ecotype. In control and 50mM treatments the maximum root, shoot, and seedling length was
observed in the 224 ecotype. Akhzari, et al (2012) observed that shoot height, shoot dry weight, root length and
root weight at all stages of development were reduced progressively with increasing salinity concentrations.
Additionally among the studied species Agropyron elongatum exhibited the maximum salt tolerance and Kochia
prostrata showed the minimum salt tolerance. Salt tolerance of Puccinellia distans was higher than that of Kochia
prostrata, but lower than that of Agropyron elongatum.
Approximately in all of the salinity levels, the maximum CVG and MDG was respectively observed in the 6990
and 3202 ecotypes.
The minimum SLVI and SWVI in all of the salinity levels was related to the 3202 ecotype, while except for the
200mM treatment, almost the maximum SLVI and SWVI was observed in the 224 ecotype. Exceptionally the
highest SLVI and SWVI in the 200mM salinity level was related to the 6990 ecotype. In another experiment was
observed that the maximum length and weight of the roots and the shoots of the studied species were related to
the lowest salinity level (4 dS/m). However, the minimum length and weight of the roots and the shoots were
observed in the highest salinity level (40 dS/m) (Akhzari, et al., 2012). Salt stress inhibited the seedling growth (root
and shoot length), but root length was more affected than shoot length (Asaadi, 2009). High salinity may inhibit root
and shoot elongation due to slowing down the water uptake by the plant, which may be another reason for this
decrease (Werner and Frankelstein, 1995).

Table 1. The origin and code of the selected ecotypes

No Ecotype Ecotype code Origin
1 Agropyron elongatum 223 Foreign ecotype
2 A.elongatum 224 Ghazvin province
3 A.elongatum 225 Ghazvin province
4 A.elongatum 6990 Chaharmahal province
5 A.elongatum 3202 Mazandaran province
6 A. pectiniforme 7819 Kerman province
7 A. pectiniforme 7852 Kerman province
8 A. pectiniforme 6951 Tehran province
9 A. pectiniforme 8754 Chaharmahal province
10 A. pectiniforme 62 Foreign ecotype

Linear regression revealed a significant negative relationship between salinity and germination (table 2). A
negative relation of salinity on germination has been reported in several studies (Greenway and munns, 1980;
Jamil and Rha, 2004; Khan and Gulzar, 2003).
There was a negative correlation between two indices of mean time to germination (MTG) and DGS and other
indices (table 4). The highest correlation coefficient was observed between seedling fresh weight and shoot fresh
weight by 0.999 while the lowest correlation coefficient was observed between DGS and germination by -0.615.
The ecotype of 6990 and 3202 had the highest and lowest values in the data set respectively, especially in high
levels of salinity. Germination rate of the 6990 and 7852 ecotypes did not decrease significantly in the highest
salinity level (200mM). In spite of this fact that the 224 was the best ecotype of non stressful or low stressful
treatment, the 6990 showed the maximum seed germination and seedling vigor indices in high salinity levels. In a
green house experiment was observed that dry weights of the roots and the shoots in Agropyron elongatom were
more than that of Agropyron desertorum and Hordeum fragilis (Askarian, 2004). While salinity resistance, shoot
height and root length of Agropyron desertorum was more than that of Agropyron elongatom (Kachout, et al.,
2009). The results of some studies (Favad, et al., 2002 and Karimi et al., 2005) showed that Agropyron elongatom
had high resistance to salinity.

Table 2. Relationship between salinity and seed germination of various ecotypes

Parameters Linear regression equation Regression coefficient Probability
2
(Salinity (mM)) (R )
germination 4.09631 - 0.02035x 0.5427 0.05

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Table 3. Means comparison of seed germination and seedling vigor indices in various salinity levels
*. Means followed by similar letters in each column are not significantly different at the 1% level (LSD).
Germination

Root Root Shoot Shoot Seedling Seedling

Ecotype

(%)

Root Shoot Seedling fresh dry fresh dry fresh dry

Salinity

length length length weight weight weight weight weight weight MTG CVG MDG DGS SLVI SWVI
level

(cm) (cm) (cm) (gr) (gr) (gr) (gr) (gr) (gr)

223 6.41 9.69 ab 16.1 ab 0.00066 0.00031 0.0111 0.00159 0.0117 d 0.00191 6.10 b 0.166 ab 6.45 bcd 0.161 860.0 bc
53.33 bc* 0.102 b
abc d d d b c bc
224 7.63 a 10.51 a 18.14 a 0.00085 0.00057 0.0128 0.00145 0.0136 c 0.00202 5.81 b 0.174 ab 10.09 0.108 1594.2 a
88.33 a 0.178 a
0 b b c c b abc bc
225 7.36 ab 10.05 ab 17.41 a 0.00124 0.00060 0.0139 0.00170 0.0151 a 0.00230 5.54 b 0.181 ab 11.78 a 0.088 c 1417.7 a
83.33 ab 0.192 a
a a a a a
6990 5.68 bc 8.02 abc 13.7 abc 0.00082 0.00041 0.0135 0.00145 0.0143 b 0.00186 5.33 b 0.188 a 10.62 ab 0.094 1129.2
81.67 ab 0.152 a
c c b c d bc ab
3202 3.47 d 3.22 d 6.68 d 0.00043 0.00025 0.00050 0.0054 f 0.00075 10.28 0.098 c 3.89 d 0.279 a 305.0 d
46.67 c 0.0049 f 0.035 c
e e g g a
7819 100.00 a 4.67 cd 6.97 11.63 0.00030 0.00013 0.0038 0.00055 f 0.0041 g 0.00068 7.12 b 0.142 10.07 0.100 1163.3 0.068 bc
abcd bcd f h g h abc abc bc ab
7852 71.67 3.68 d 7.05 abc 10.73 cd 0.00023 0.00012 0.0034 0.00047 0.0037 h 0.00058 6.72 b 0.149 ab 7.62 0.132 770.0
0.042 c
abc h h h h j abcd bc bcd
6951 3.81 d 5.26 cd 9.08 cd 0.00025 0.00017 0.00063 0.0015 j 0.00079 7.14 b 0.143 7.60 0.136 695.0
80.00 ab 0.0012j 0.063 bc
g g e f abc abcd bc bcd
8754 3.53 d 5.52 cd 9.05 cd 0.00019 0.00017 0.0017 i 0.00062 7.42 b 0.137 bc 7.95 0.130 790.0 bc
86.67 a 0.0015 i 0.00044 i 0.053 bc
i g i abcd bc
62 55.00 bc 3.44 d 6.37 bcd 9.81 cd 0.00082 0.00024 0.0111 0.00159 0.0117 d 0.00088 7.17 b 0.145 5.59 cd 0.199 548.3 cd 0.048 c
c f d b e abc ab
223 63.33 4.85 7.33 a 12.19 bc 0.00053 0.00026 0.0083 0.00189 0.0088 d 0.00216 6.47 0.155 ab 6.87 bcd 0.161 b 770.3 bc
0.137 bc
abc bcd d g d a a de
224 8.22 a 9.21 a 17.43 a 0.00071 0.00057 0.0110 0.00155 0.0118 b 0.00212 6.60 0.151 9.67 abc 0.104 b 1623.3 a
93.33 a 0.198 a
50 c b b b b de abc
225 7.16 ab 5.88 bc 13.03 b 0.00096 0.00082 0.0102 0.00129 0.0112 c 0.00211 7.45 0.137 5.14 cd 0.305 669.3 cd
46.67 bc 0.098 cd
b a c d c cd bcd ab
6990 5.31 bc 7.39 ab 12.70 b 0.00098 0.00041 0.0145 0.00150 0.0155 a 0.00191 5.68 e 0.176 a 12.80 a 0.079 b 1185.0
93.33 a 0.178 ab
a c a c d ab
3202 4.24 cd 2.58 e 6.81 de 0.00033 0.00039 0.0028 i 0.00072 10.40 0.096 f 2.50 d 0.408 a 197.5 d
30.00 c 0.0025 i 0.00033 j 0.022 e
g d h a
7819 4.36 cd 4.91 cd 9.27 0.00031 0.00016 0.0032 0.0035 g 0.00057 7.94 0.126 7.14 bcd 0.142 b 748.3 bc
81.67 ab 0.00041 i 0.047 de
bcde h i g j cd cde
7852 3.11 cd 5.40 bcd 8.51 cde 0.00016 0.00016 0.00051 0.0043 f 0.00067 7.10 0.142 bc 9.92 ab 0.102 b 780.0 bc
91.67 a 0.0041 f 0.062 de
i i h i de
6951 2.50 d 3.58 de 6.08 e 0.00041 0.00020 0.0017 j 0.00083 9.63 0.104 ef 6.81 bcd 0.147 b 498.3 cd
81.67 ab 0.0013 j 0.00063 f 0.068 de
f h f ab
8754 55.00 2.99 cd 3.68 de 6.67 de 0.00042 0.00027 0.0026 0.00055 0.0031 h 0.00082 8.83 0.114 5.14 cd 0.195 370.0 cd
0.045 de
abc e f h g g bc def ab
62 4.28 cd 5.90 bc 10.19 0.00041 0.00033 0.0053 0.00081 0.0057 e 0.00114 6.55 0.154 ab 7.96 bc 0.155 b 690.0
70.00 ab 0.080 d
bcd f e e e e de bcd

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Continue of table 3. Means comparison of seed germination and seedling vigor indices in various salinity levels

Germination
Root Shoot Seedling Root Root Shoot Shoot Seedling Seedling
Ecotype

(%)
length length length fresh dry fresh dry fresh dry
Salinity

(cm) (cm) (cm) weight weight weight weight weight weight MTG CVG MDG DGS SLVI SWVI
level

(gr) (gr) (gr) (gr) (gr) (gr)

223 3.88 4.59 a 8.46 0.00070 0.00036 0.00776 0.0084 d 0.00170 6.64 0.151 ab 5.86 ab 0.185 b 472.7
55.00 ab 0.00133 c 0.093 bc
bcd abcd d d d d bc abc
224 7.12 a 5.56 a 12.68 a 0.00073 0.01050 0.00135 0.0116 c 0.00208 6.23 0.167 ab 10.14 a 0.115 b 1069.2 a
80.00 a 0.00115 b 0.167 a
100 b b b b bc
225 5.92 ab 4.47 a 10.39 0.00080 0.01031 0.00133 0.0118 b 0.00213 6.96 0.146 ab 7.80 ab 0.172 b 721.2
65.00 ab 0.00154 a 0.138 ab
abc a c c a bc abc
6990 4.90 bc 5.97 a 10.87 ab 0.00094 0.00045 0.01217 0.00138 0.0131 a 0.00183 5.32 c 0.188 a 12.01 a 0.087 b 957.5 ab
88.33 a 0.162 a
c c a a c
3202 2.33 d 1.07 b 3.41 d 0.00019 0.00013 0.00113 0.0013 j 0.00038 10.06 0.100 c 2.30 b 0.456 a 88.3 c
26.67 b 0.00025 i 0.010 d
h h j j a
7819 3.72 cd 4.02 ab 6.74 bcd 0.00027 0.00016 0.00254 0.00046 0.0028 g 0.00063 7.85 b 0.127 bc 7.53 ab 0.133 b 612.5 0.050 cd
80.00 a
g g g e g abc
7852 2.74 cd 3.99 ab 2.89 b 0.00022 0.00212 0.00034 0.0022 i 0.00056 7.96 b 0.129 bc 6.48 ab 0.172 b 466.7
68.33 ab 0.00012 i 0.038 cd
f i g h abc
6951 2.71 d 2.64 ab 5.35 cd 0.00027 0.00024 0.00257 0.0028 f 0.00068 7.46 b 0.134 bc 6.06 ab 0.179 b 356.7 bc
61.67 ab 0.00043 f 0.042 cd
g e f f
8754 2.93 cd 3.24 ab 6.17 bcd 0.00028 0.00013 0.00222 0.0025 h 0.00041 7.49 b 0.136 bc 5.71 ab 0.208 b 351.7 bc
53.33 ab 0.00028 h 0.022 d
f h h i
62 2.57 d 2.92 ab 5.49 cd 0.00022 0.00314 0.00058 d 0.0035 e 0.00081 7.80 b 0.129 bc 5.82 ab 0.195 b 316.7 c 0.048 cd
60.00 ab 0.00036 e
f e e
223 1.23 bc 0.21 b 1.43 bcd 0.00033 0.00011 0.0009 0.00022 0.00122 0.00033 9.67 0.104 ab 1.39 cde 1.03 ab 21.17 c
15.00 cd 0.005 cd
b d c cd c c ab
224 0.40 cd 0.00 b 0.40 cd 0.00014 0.00000 0.0003 0.00007 0.00043 f 0.00007 8.74 0.116 ab 2.28 cd 0.52 8.67 c
23.33 cd 0.002 d
200 de f e g f ab abc
225 1.58 bc 0.09 b 1.67 bcd 0.00017 0.00000 0.0009 0.00025 0.00108 0.00025 9.02 0.111 ab 3.52 bc 0.32 bc 69.17 c
40.00 bc 0.010 c
cd f c c c d ab
6990 3.34 a 2.58 a 5.91 a 0.00060 0.00023 0.0041 0.00047 0.00468 0.00070 6.66 0.151 a 9.79 a 0.10 bc 463.3 a
78.33 a 0.055 a
a a a a a a ab
3202 0.00 d 0.00 b 0.00 d 0.00000 0.00000 0.0000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00000 0.00 c 0.000 c 0.00 e 0.00 c 0.00 c
0.00 d 0.010 d
f f g h h g
7819 1.51 bc 0.00 b 1.51 bcd 0.00009 0.00000 0.00009 0.00025 0.00009 5.84 b 0.076 b 1.29 cde 0.38 30.00 c
13.33 d 0.0002 f 0.002 d
e f fg g ef abc
7852 1.73 b 1.16 b 2.89 b 0.00018 0.00015 0.0013 0.00031 0.00146 0.00046 8.52 0.118 ab 5.61 b 0.18 bc 190.0 b
65.00 ab 0.030 b
cd c b b b b ab
6951 1.67 0.06 b 1.22 bcd 0.00020 0.00010 0.0001 0.00000 0.00030 0.00010 10.67 0.094 b 1.41 cde 0.90 20.00 c
16.67 cd 0.002 d
bcd c e fg h fg ef a abc
8754 1.67 0.94 b 2.11 bc 0.00033 0.00017 0.0003 0.00017 0.00067 0.00033 10.20 0.099 ab 0.94 de 1.29 a 25.00 c
10.00 d 0.003 d
bcd b b e de e c a
62 1.18 0.32 b 1.50 bcd 0.00014 0.00000 0.0007 0.00014 0.00086 0.00014 8.56 0.117 ab 2.33 cd 0.48 38.33 c
23.33 cd 0.003 d
bcd de f d ef d e ab abc
*. Means followed by similar letters in each column are not significantly different at the 1% level (LSD).

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Table 4. Correlation coefficients of seed germination and seedling vigor indices of various ecotypes

Seedling dry weight

shoot fresh weight
root fresh weight

shoot dry weight

Root dry weight
seedling length

Seedling fresh
shoot length
germination

root length

weight

SWVI
MDG
MTG

DGS
CVG

SLVI
Germination 1.000
root length 0.605** 1.000
shoot length 0.666** 0.854** 1.000
seedling length 0.377** 0.947** 0.976** 1.000
root fresh weight 0.377** 0.741** 0.578** 0.668** 1.000
Root dry weight 0.387** 0.816** 0.586** 0.704** 0.893** 1.000
shoot fresh weight 0.498** 0.831** 0.776** 0.828** 0.874** 0.812** 1.000
shoot dry weight 0.514** 0.829** 0.789** 0.835** 0.816** 0.781** 0.934** 1.000
Seedling fresh 0.493** 0.832** 0.768** 0.823** 0.891** 0.824** 0.999** 0.934** 1.000
weight
Seedling dry weight 0.501** 0.863** 0.767** 0.836** 0.876** 0.881** 0.942** 0.983** 0.945** 1.000
MTG - - - -0.345 - - - - - - 1.000
0.229** 0.264** 0.380** 0.235** 0.186** 0.393** 0.355** 0.385** 0.322**
CVG 0.699** 0.697** 0.719** 0.737** 0.598** 0.523** 0.697** 0.691** 0.696** 0.674** - 1.000
0.141**
MDG 0.923** 0.669** 0.721** 0.726** 0.527** 0.485** 0.649** 0.621** 0.646** 0.610** - 0.801** 1.000
0.375**
DGS - - - - - - - - - - 0.534** - - 1.000
0.615** 0.387** 0.474** 0.455** 0.220** 0.239** 0.360** 0.370** 0.353** 0.350** 0.296** 0.578**
SLVI 0.818** 0.862** 0.902** 0.919** 0.593** 0.609** 0.766** 0.749** 0.760** 0.743** - 0.725** 0.861** - 1.000
0.415** 0.494**
SWVI 0.699** 0.845** 0.778** 0.835** 0.792** 0.773** 0.901** 0.905** 0.901** 0.909** - 0.717** 0.801** - 0.893** 1.000
0.417** 0.440**
**. Significant at the 1% probability level.

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