An effective salt tolerance evaluation method for blackgram (Vigna mungo L.) at the seed germination stage

Abstract

Salinity is a complex and major abiotic stress that hinders plant growth and development, ultimately reducing crop yield. As the global salinity-affected area continues to increase, the development of salt-tolerant genotypes is one of the effective contemporary strategies to sustain crop production. Blackgram is an important pulse crop with high salinity susceptibility. However, few studies have evaluated its salt tolerance. In this study, we have optimized the critical salinity level to screen at the germination stage. The membership function value (MFV) method was employed to integrate multiple morphological and physiologic traits into a single comprehensive metric for evaluating salt tolerance in 80 blackgram genotypes. Genotypes were classified based on MFV thresholds into categories ranging from highly salt susceptible to highly salt tolerant, enabling robust differentiation among the 80 blackgram genotypes studied. This novel evaluation approach enhances the accuracy and practical applicability of salt tolerance screening in germplasm. Out of 80 genotypes, four were classified as highly salt tolerant (HST), eight as salt tolerant (ST), 57 as moderately salt tolerant (MST), two as salt susceptible (SS), and nine as highly salt susceptible (HSS). Based on the MFV analysis, the genotypes G20, G42, G79, and G80 were classified as highly salt tolerant. Similarly, genotypes G10, G13, G28, G37, G58, G63, G70, G72, and G74 were classified as highly salt susceptible. Among the measured traits, germination percentage (GP), germination index (GI) and germination vigor index (GVI) proved to be reliable indicators for assessing salt tolerance. These findings offer valuable insights for the evaluation and breeding of salt-tolerant blackgram genotypes at the germination stage.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

blackgram / salinity stress / germination stage / germination percentage / MFV

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