Screening of Salt-Tolerant Date Palm Cultivars at the Seedling Stage
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55627/pbulletin.005.01.1644Keywords:
datepalm, salinity, screenout, susceptible, tolerance, sodium, potassium, cell membrane permiability, chlorophyll contentAbstract
Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.), belongs to the Aceraceae family, is a cost-effective and nutritionally important crop. Although considered moderately salt tolerant, excessive salt accumulation caused by irrigation with brackish water severely reduces yield and survival rates. The physiological and anatomical mechanisms underlying salt tolerance in date palm remain only partially understood. This study aims to evaluate the salt tolerance in four commercially important date palm cultivars at the seedling stage under NaCl stress levels of 0, 6, 8, and 10 dS m⁻¹. The objective was to identify cultivars with higher tolerance and those more susceptible to salinity stress. Morphological and physiological parameters were recorded under both control and saline conditions, and the data was analyzed through the ANOVA (analysis of variance) test. Significant genotypic variation was observed for traits such as days to emergence, root and shoot biomass (fresh and dry), shoot and root length, chlorophyll content, stomatal conductance, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate and cell membrane thermostability. The results revealed that while date palms can withstand high salinity, the degree of tolerance varies across cultivars. Shoot Na⁺ exclusion emerged as a key determinant of salinity resistance and may serve as a reliable criterion for screening tolerant genotypes. Importantly, two cultivars (Zahidi and Aseel) exhibited superior tolerance and can be utilized as genetic resources for future breeding programs aimed at enhancing salt resistance. The identification of these tolerant cultivars offers practical opportunities for cultivation in salt-affected areas, thereby sustaining productivity and improving the resilience of date palm cultivation.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Mohammad Zulqarnain, Plosha khanum, Shoaib Ur Rehman, Zahid Rashid, Amina, Tanveer Ahmad, Rao Wali Muhammad
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