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Taskina K.B., Kaznina N.M. Effect of salinization on some parameters of water status in barley (Hordeum vulgare L) plants. Sel'skokhozyaistvennaya Biologiya [Agricultural Biology], 2025, Vol. 60, № 5, p. 866-874.
(how to cite this article)

doi: 10.15389/agrobiology.2025.5.866eng

UDC: 633.16:581.1:58.04

Acknowledgements:
The work was carried out using equipment at the Shared Use Center of the Federal Research Center Karelian Scientific Center RAS.
Carried out within the framework of the state assignment on the topic “Mechanisms of plant resistance and adaptation to unfavorable environmental factors” (project No. FMEN-2022-0004) and funded by the federal budget

 

EFFECT OF SALINIZATION ON SOME PARAMETERS OF WATER STATUS IN BARLEY (Hordeum vulgare L) PLANTS

K.B. Taskina✉, N.M. Kaznina

Institute of Biology, the Karelian Scientific Center RAS, 11, ul. Pushkinskaya, Petrozavodsk, 185910 Russia, e-mail tasamayaksenia@gmail.com (✉ corresponding author), kaznina@krc.karelia.ru

ORCID:
Taskina K.B. orcid.org/0000-0001-5322-9798
Kaznina N.M. orcid.org/0000-0003-3092-563X

Final revision received October 28, 2024
Accepted March 04, 2025

One of the main causes of cereal yield decline in saline soils is disruption of the water and ion balance of cells, thus a prerequisite for successful plant growth and development under salinity is their ability to maintain the required level of water exchange, which is especially important during the initial stages of ontogenesis, when plants are most sensitive to stress factors. Therefore, studying water balance parameters in cereals is highly relevant; however, it should be noted that the changes in plant water exchange under salinity remain relatively understudied. In this study, we demonstrated for the first time that adaptive responses aimed at maintaining plant water balance are activated even in 10-day-old barley seedlings exposed to salinity. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of moderate and severe salinity on certain parameters of water exchange in barley plants. The experiments were conducted in 2023-2024. We used spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) Nur variety, recommended for cultivation in the Non-Chernozem zone and characterized by its flexibility in changing soil conditions. Under laboratory conditions, the seeds were germinated in the dark at 25 °C in Petri dishes (GOST 12038-84. Moscow, 2011). Ten hatched seeds were placed in 0.5-liter vessels with perforated lids. In the control variant, the vessels were filled with 1/2 Hoagland-Arnon nutrient solution; in the experimental variants, NaCl was added to the nutrient solution at concentrations of 100 and 150 mM. The plants of the control and experimental variants were grown in controlled environmental conditions under a light installation for 7 days at 20-22 °C, humidity of 60-70 %, PAR of 100 μmol/(m2·s) and a 14-hour photoperiod. Upon completion of the experiment, the content of Na+ and Cl-ions in shoots, shoot fresh biomass, shoot tissue water content (OB), leaf relative water content (RWC), total leaf water loss (LWL), stomatal apparatus condition (number of stomata, area and diameter of the stomatal aperture), stomatal conductance and transpiration rate were determined. The Na+ content was determined by the atomic absorption method using an AA-7000 spectrophotometer (Shimadzu, Japan); the Cl- content was measured potentiometrically using an Anion 4100 potentiometer (Infraspak-Analit NPP, Russia). The number ofstomata on the leaf abaxial side and stomatal aperture diameter were measured using the indentation method on the light microscope Mikmed 2 (Lomo, Russia) and an ocular micrometer. Stomatal conductance and transpiration rate were measured using an HCM-1000 CO2 gas exchange and water vapor measurement system (Heinz Walz GmbH, Germany). It was found that under moderate and severe salinity, the Na+ ions content in barley shoots increased by more than 150 and 170 times, respectively, compared to the control, while Cl-ions content increased by 8 and 9 times. Moreover, in the experimental variants, plants had a lower RWC in the leaves compared to the control, but no significant wilting or loss of turgor was observed. Tissue water content was also maintained at the required level, largely due to an increase in leaf water-holding capacity under salinity conditions, partial closure of stomata, and a slower transpiration rate. Specifically, the LWL, which characterizes leaf water loss, was 37 % and 42 % lower under moderate and high salinity than in the control, respectively, indicating an increase in water-holding capacity. Stomatal conductance was reduced by more than 40 % compared to the control, and the transpiration rate by 40 % and 60 %, depending on the salt concentration, indicating partial closure of stomata under stressful conditions. The decrease in shoot wet biomass accumulation in the experimental plants was apparently a consequence of growth inhibition as an adaptive response to stress. Thus, already in the early stages of development of the Nur barley variety, moderate and strong salinization leads to a number of physiological and biochemical changes that contribute to the maintenance of the plant's water regime, which, at least in part, explains the high salt tolerance of this crop.

Keywords: sodium chloride salinity, ions’ content, water content, relative water content, water retention capacity, stomata, transpiration rate.

 

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