In vitro Screening for Salt Tolerance of Some Citrus Rootstocks

Abstract

Just because of geographical spread, citrus species generally grow in places sensitive to salinity. Testing methods have a significant role in breeding and cultivar development programs. This study was conducted to investigate in vitro salt response of Cleopatra mandarin (Citrus reshni Tan.), sour orange (Citrus aurantium L.), rough lemon (Citrus jambhiri Lush.), Volkamer lemon (Citrus volkameriana Tan & Pasq.), Carrizo citrange (Poncirus trifoliata L. Raf. X Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) and trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata Raf.) rootstocks at different NaCl concentrations. Seeds were germinated in MS medium with 0, 45, 90 and 135 mM NaCl concentrations. In general, the greatest germination rates in all salt concentrations in Volkamer lemon and sour orange rootstocks and the lowest values were observed in rough lemon and trifoliate orange rootstocks. Present findings revealed that in vitro conditions could reliably be used in salt tolerance tests of citrus rootstocks.