Evaluation of sesame cultivars in germination stage under salinity stress

In order to investigate the effects of different levels of salinity stress on germination characteristics of four different sesame cultivars, a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications in Graduate University of Advanced Technology. Four sesame cultivars named Yekta, Olean, Yellow white and Darab14 were studied in five salinity levels of sodium chloride solution with a concentration of 0 dS / cm as a control and concentrations of 4,8,12 and16 dS / cm. Germination rate, shoot fresh weight, shoot dry weight, fresh weight of root and root dry weight were studied in this experiment. The results of analysis of variance showed that in most of the studied traits there is a significant difference between cultivars and between different salinity levels as well as the interaction effects of cultivars and different salinity levels. Comparison of the means obtained from Duncan's test showed that Olean and Yekta cultivars have more resistance in germination stage than Yellow white and Darab 14 cultivars. These cultivars are preferred for cultivation in saline areas. The results also show that EC = 4 is the best salinity for sesame germination. Sesame also tolerates medium salinity EC = 8 and EC = 12.