Ion segregation in different plant parts within different barley cultivars under salt stress

Summary

Fourteen barley varieties were screened for their salt tolerance when stressed with 171 mM NaCl. The barley varieties consisted of 9 summer and five winter cultivars. There was no direct genetic link between the cultivars. Plants were harvested after 2, 5 and 9 weeks and divided them into different plant parts, old leaves (leaves 1 to 4), young leaves (5 to 8), stem and ear. Growth and ion contents were measured. All plants could survive the first five weeks of salt stress, after that time almost all summer and one winter variety could withstand the stress. All sensitive varieties had a tendency to accumulate high amounts of Na and Cl in the developing younger leaves. It was suggested that tolerant plants were able to retranslocate K-ions more efficiently from older leaves to the developing leaves, exchanging them with Na-ions. They also had the tendency to maintain favorable K/Na ratios in younger leaves and stems.