Journal
PLANT AND SOIL
Volume 408, Issue 1-2, Pages 211-226Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s11104-016-2922-1
Keywords
Medicago sativa L.; Nonuniform salinity; Split-root system; Water uptake; Predawn leaf water potential; Leaf Na+ concentration
Categories
Funding
- earmarked fund for China Agricultural Research System [CARS-35]
- Fundamental Research Funds for Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences [1610332012003, 1610332014007]
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Soil salinity varies greatly in the plant rhizosphere. The effect of nonuniform salinity on the growth and physiology response of alfalfa plants was determined to improve understanding of salt stress tolerance mechanisms of alfalfa. Plant growth, predawn leaf water potential, water uptake, and tissue ionic content were studied in alfalfa plants grown hydroponically for 9 days using a split-root system, with uniform salinity or horizontally nonuniform salinity treatments (0/S, 75/S, and 150/S corresponding to 0, 75, and 150 mM NaCl on the low salt side, respectively). Compared with uniform high salinity, 0/S and 75/S treatments significantly increased the alfalfa shoot dry mass and stem extension rate. Compensatory water uptake by low salt roots of 0/S and 75/S treatments was observed. However, decreased leaf Na+ concentration, increased leaf K+/Na+, and compensatory growth of roots on the low salt side were observed only following the 0/S treatment. Nonuniform salinity dose not enhance plant growth once a threshold NaCl concentration in low salinity growth medium has been reached. Compensation of water uptake from the low-salt root zone and regulation of K+/Na+ homeostasis in low salt root play more important role than regulation of leaf ions in enhancing alfalfa growth under nonuniform salinity.
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