Evaluation of salinity tolerance in Iranian rice recycling linseed seedlings

To study the genetic diversity of 74 Iranian recombinant inbred lines of Neda × Ahlami Tarom under salinity stress in seedling stage, an experiment was conducted in completely randomized design with three replications and two conditions of normal culture and salt stress at Gonbad Kavous University in 2015. The seedling was evaluated in 6 dSm-1 salinity for a week, and then salt stress was increased to 12 dSm-1. Chlorophyll content, root and shoot lengths, root and shoot dry weights, leaf area, length and width of the biggest leaf, root numbers, root diameter, root density, Na+ and K+ concentrations of root and stem, Na+/K+ in shoot and root, Length, width and number of stomata and salt tolerance score were recorded. The significant differences between the lines for the studied traits showed the variation between them. The highest correlation was observed between root diameter and root surface density. The correlation coefficients were significant for seedling dry weight, leaf area and chlorophyll content and root length. In the stepwise regression, chlorophyll content and leaf area described the most significant changes. Cluster analysis based on total seedling traits divided lines into four groups andlines 11, 102, 39 and 85 were resistant to salinity stress. The results obtained from this study can identify the lines tolerated for crossing and prepare populations suitable for breeding programs.