RESPONSE OF THREE COMMON STRAWBERRY CULTIVARS
TO SALT STRESS IN JORDAN

S. J. Owais
Bull. Fac. Agric. Cairo Univ., 2009

ABSTRACT

Sodium chloride (NaCl) treatments were conducted on three strawberry cultivars (Fragaria ananassa cvs. Camarosa, Albium and Ventana). The experiment was conducted in a glasshouse from the 10th of October 2007 until the 10th of January 2008 at Mu'tah University Agricultural Station, Karak, Jordan. Two concentrations of NaCl (30 and 60 mM) in addition to the blank was used for 60 days. All applied treatments contained Half strength Hogland solution. Plant height, leaf weight, root length and root weight were significantly (P<0.05) decreased by increasing salinity level. The percentage of leaf damage was significantly (P<0.05) increased by increasing salinity. There were significant cultivar a× salt interaction (P<0.05) on root length, percentage of leaf damage and N accumulation in leaves and root, indicating that the cultivars responded to salt differently. Na content rose significantly in all tested cultivars, but higher concentrations were recorded in Camarosa and Ventana cultivars than in Albium. In conclusion, the results indicated that Albium cultivar is less affected by NaCl stress at early growth stage of plant development than Camarosa and Ventana cultivars, indicating that Albium cultivar has a genetic potential for salt tolerance, at least at this stage of its life cycle.

Key words: growth traits, mineral composition, salt stress, strawberry