Hydroponic screening of strawberry for salt tolerance: correlation with in vitro evaluations
Date
1994
Authors
Wright, Floyd Thomas, author
Hughes, Harrison G., advisor
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Abstract
Strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa), as well as most agricultural crops, display sensitivity to increased salt concentrations in irrigation water and soil. Efforts to breed more tolerant crops have not been entirely successful in the past because many complicated factors are involved, but promising efforts continue. 'Fern' (F) and 'Douglas' (D) strawberries, two salt sensitive cultivars, were crossed with a salt tolerant beach strawberry selection, Fragaria chiloensis (C). Samples of the two crosses and cultivar parents were previously tested in 1989 and 1990 for salt tolerance in vitro as germinated seedlings. In 1991 and 1992, samples of the crosses and all parental types were hydroponically tested as mature plants for salt tolerance. The in vitro and hydroponic findings were correlated. Significant salt tolerance was noted in the 'Fern' X L. chiloensis crosses both in vitro and in hydroponic testing, although the growth response was different between the two methods. All genotypes tested in vitro grew better at the 0.2% salt concentrations when compared to control. At higher concentrations, there were varying degrees of growth reduction depending on the genotype. Two types of hydroponic experiments were run. In type 1, salts were added in 0.3% increments over time in order to determine the highest total concentration each plant genotype could tolerate given time to adapt by metabolic alteration. In type 2, salt was added in one application at 0.2%, 0.5%, or 0.8% NaCl in order to determine tolerance to an osmotic shock. Differences in relative growth were noted between the two hydroponic experiments. When lines were directly subjected to high salt, most plants were killed at the 0.5% level, and all plants were killed at the 0.8% NaCl level. When salt was gradually added, 1.3% was tolerated by the best adapted crosses. Despite the differences in tolerance noted, the genotypes tested ranked similarly under both systems; F X C was superior to D X C, and both crosses were superior to the cultivars. Therefore, the hydroponic results validate the in vitro results.
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Subject
Strawberries
Hydroponics
Salt-tolerant crops