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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. sp5 (2026): Recent Advances in Agriculture

Comparative study of seed germination and seedling development of tomato genotypes under different salinity levels: -

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.15554
Submitted
14 May 2026
Published
18-08-2026

Abstract

Salinity is one of the important constraints that militate against crop production in salt affected areas worldwide. Tomato being one of the important vegetable crops, has been studied under salinity stress at seedling stage in search of salt tolerant genotypes. In this study, seedlings of twelve tomato genotypes were treated with four levels of sodium chloride (NaCl) (0, 50, 100 and 150 mM) and characterised for germination percentage, seedling length and lengths of shoot and root. The data revealed that as the salt concentrations increased, the percentage of germination and seedling length along with shoot and root length decreased, while mean germination time increased. Remarkable variation existed among the genotypes in their response to salt stress. Under high salt stress, Pusa Ruby and Giant Ferry manifested the highest increase in germination percentage, seedling growth and vigour index. These two genotypes had the highest stress tolerance indices which revealed higher stress tolerance potential. The results suggested the existence of genetic variation for salinity tolerance among studied tomato genotypes. Some genotypes like Pusa Ruby and Giant Ferry may be identified and utilised in breeding programmes for developing salt tolerant tomato cultivars. The study described genotypic variations at seedling stage and their responses to saline conditions, which are critical for seedling establishment and plant growth under saline environments.

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