Salinity Sensitivity of Sorghum at Three Growth Stages

The relative salt tolerance of two sorghum cultivars [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench., cvs. Northrup King 265 and Asgrow Double TX] at three different stages of growth was determined in a greenhouse experiment. Plants were grown in sand cultures irrigated four times daily with modified Hoagland's solution. A nonsaline solution and six solutions salinized with NaCl and CaCl2 (2: 1 molar ratio) provided treatments with osmotic potentials (ψs) ranging from −0.05 to −1.05 MPa. The saline treatments were imposed for 30 days beginning at either Stage 1, 4, or 7 as defined by Vanderlip and Reeves (Agron J. 64:13, 1972). The 30-day stages are referred to here as the vegetative, reproductive and maturation stages although the first stage may have included initial panicle differentiation. Both cultivars were most sensitive to salinity during the vegetative stage and least sensitive during maturation. Based on a nonlinear least-squares analysis, grain yield reductions of 50% were predicted at ψs=−0.68, −1.02, and −1.14 MPa for NK265 and at −0.62, −1.00, and −1.10 MPa for Double TX when salinized during the vegetative, reproductive, and maturation stages, respectively. Although salinity had no significant effect on mean kernel weights, significant growth stage effects and interaction indicated that kernels were heaviest for plants salinized during the vegetative stage. Stover yields were significantly reduced by salination during the vegetative stage but were unaffected when plants were salinized during the maturation stage. Salination during the reproductive stage also decreased stover yield of Double TX but the effect was smaller than that during the first stage. Stover yield of NK265 was unaffected by salinity at this stage. Mineral analysis of the first leaf below the flag leaf at harvest indicated that both cultivars tended to exclude Na from the upper leaves. Ca and Cl concentrations increased with increased salinity in plants salinized during the maturation stage but salination in earlier stages decreased Ca concentration of this upper leaf at harvest and had no effect on the final Cl concentration. Phosphate and K concentrations decreased when plants were salinized during the third stage but increased when plants were salinized during the vegetative and reproductive stages. Mg was unaffected by salinization during the first and last stage but decreased when plants were salinized,during the reproductive stage. An extensive data base now exists which describes the salt tolerances of many different crops (Maas and Hoffman 1977; Maas 1986). These data express yield responses as a function of the average salt concentration in the rootzone. Generally, these data apply only if salinity is fairly uniform from the seedling stage to maturity. Except for germination, little information exists on the tolerances of crops at different stages of growth. Such information could be invaluable to optimize the use of limited water resources. Knowledge that crops are more tolerant during some stages of growth will improve new strategies for utilizing saline drainage waters (Rhoades 1984). Several studies indicate that tolerances do change as the crop develops and matures, but none of these studies completely separated the effects of duration of treatment from the stage of growth that the crop was treated (Ayers et al. 1952; Kaddah and Ghowail 1964; Kovalskaia 1958; Lunin et al. 1961 a, 1961 b; Maas et al. 1983; Ogo and Sasai 1955; Piruzyan 1959; Verma and Bains 1974). Comparisons of sensitivity during specific phenological stages are confounded when treatment periods are of unequal duration. This study was initiated to determine the sensitivity of grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] to salinity during three 30-day periods of growth. Francois et al. (1984) recently reported that sorghum is a moderately salt-tolerant crop. In field plot tests, grain yields of two cultivars decreased 16% per unit increase in salinity (electrical conductivity of saturated soil extracts from the rootzone) above 6.8 dS/m. They further reported that both cultivars were significantly more tolerant at germination than at later stages of growth. Soil water salinities above 8.2 dS/m delayed germination but full germination occurred within 10 days at salinities up to 22 dS/m. Treatments in the present study were designed to assess plant growth and yield responses to 30-day exposures to salinity beginning at either the 2-leaf stage, at the beginning of rapid culm elongation, or after anthesis.