Impact of NaCl salinity on the germination of Acacia mellifera, Aloe vera, Amaranthus graecizans and Lawsonia inermis plant seeds growing in Saudi Arabia

Owdah A. Al-Sobhi

Biology Department, Faculty of Science, Taibah University, Al-Madinah Al-Munawarrah, (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia).

ABSTRACT: The present investigation determined the salinity effect on seed germination of Saudi Arabian plant species namely Acacia mellifera, Aloe vera, Amaranthus graecizans and Lawsonia inermis. The response of seeds to different NaCl concentrations varied and the delay in radicle growth was proportional to salt concentration. Acacia mellifera seeds gave their maximum radicle growth after 10 days and the reduction in radicle growth was 92.7% compared to control. The growth of radicle continued for 13 days to record the maximum value in the case of Aloe vera. The delay in radicle growth was lower than that of Acacia mellifera. The radicle growth indicated that the Aloe vera was slightly more tolerant to salinity stress, since the radicle growth recorded at 200% NaCl was reduced by 87.2%. On the other hand, Amaranthus graecizans showed a reduction of 91% in the radicle length at 100% NaCl compared to the control. Lawsonia inermis showed a reduction of 76% in radicle length compared to the control and about 10% lower than that of Aloe. Lawsonia inermis showed the highest germination percentage followed by Aloe vera, Amaranthus graecizans then Acacia mellifera in a descending order. The correlation coefficient calculation between NaCl concentration and percentage germination showed that the strongest relation was found in Lawsonia inermis followed by Aloe vera, Acacia mellifera the Amaranthus graecizans.

KEYWORDS: Acacia mellifera; Aloe vera; Amaranthus graecizans; Lawsonia inermis Salinity; seed germination

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