Screening of Maize (Zea mays L.) cultivars for salinity tolerance at germination and early seedling stages

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of salinity stress on seed germination and early seedling growth of five cultivars of maize (Zea mays L.). Salinity stress markedly reduced seed germination and early seedling growth in all cultivars exposed to 0-300 mM NaCl under controlled laboratory conditions for 14 days. However, cultivar responses differed significantly. Cultivar BHM-9 showed the highest tolerance, maintaining comparatively higher germination (80% at 300 mM NaCl) and better biomass retention, with lower reductions in shoot and root dry weight (78.95 and 63.64%, respectively). In contrast, BHM-13 and BHM-16 were highly sensitive, exhibiting sharp declines in germination (16.67 and 20.00% germination rate, respectively). The declining rate of biomass accumulation was also relatively higher in BHM-13 (90.48 and 66.67% reduction) and BHM-16 (93.75 and 83.34% drop in shoot and root dry weight) at 300 mM NaCl concentration. Overall, BHM-9 demonstrated superior performance under salt stress and is identified as a promising cultivar for saline-prone environments at the germination and early seedling stages.

Jahangirnagar University J. Biol. Sci. 14(1 & 2): 139-149, 2025 (June & December)