The behavior of some onion (Allium cepa L.) local landraces under salt stress

Abstract

Soil salinity is a very important ecological factor that affects the growth and the yield of cultivated plants, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. This decrease in land productivity due to salinization, come in contradiction with increased food need. In the effort to create plants resistant to salinity, exploitation of diverse sources of variability as local landraces is required. Onion (Allium cepa L.) is a very important vegetable crop considered salt sensitive. The aim of this work was to determinate the effect of salt stress of 11 landraces collected from NE Romania, in Iasi and Botosani districts in areas with saline excess. The results of research show that only some of the studied cultivars reacted to salt stress according to the biphasic model Munns. Only one of this local landraces presented a better salt resistance expressed by high chlorophyll content and a yield close to the control variant.