Abstract
Salt tolerance at the germination and seedling stages in 30 cultivars grown in Huabei area of China was compared with that in 30 Japanese cultivars. The result of the germination test in tap water (control) and saline water [0.2% (34 mM), 0.4% (68 mM), 0.6% (103 mM), 0.8% (137 mM) and 1.0% (171 mM) NaCl] showed no significant difference between the Chinese and Japanese cultivars. In the 5-week-old seedlings with about 7 leaves cultivated in 0.25% (34 mM) saline water for 16 days, salt tolerance of Chinese cultivars was significantly higher than that of Japanese cultivars at the seedling stage. No significant correlation was found between the salt tolerance at the germinating stage and that at the seedling stage. However, salt tolerance of two Chinese cultivars (Kenyou18 and Jindao206) was strong both at the germinating and seedling stages. In Japanese cultivars, Akigeshiki, Aikoku and Fujihikari showed high salt tolerance only at the seedling stage. These results suggested that these cultivars would be useful materials for salt-tolerance breeding in Huabei area.
