Interactive Effects of the Temperature and Salinity on Germination of Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)

• DOI: 10.18805/lrf-839
• Publication Date: 2025-02-25T11:58:23Z
• Authors: Ugur Ozkan

Background: Temperature and salinity are crucial environmental factors that significantly affect seed germination. The current study aimed to determine optimal temperature (18oC, 25oC and 32oC) and seed germination traits of alfalfa genotypes (genotype 3, genotype 9, genotype 16) and CUF-101 (control variety) for comparison purposes at different salinity levels. Methods: Germination energy (GE), germination percentage (GP), germination index (GI), mean germination days (MGD), root length (RL), shoot length (SL), fresh weight (FW), dry weight (DW), seedling vigour (SV) were analyzed using JMP v17.0. Result: The seeds of CUF-101 were greater for all germination traits than those of the other alfalfa genotypes, excluding MGD. The results showed that the highest germination traits were achieved at 25oC (T25) for all treatments, which was determined to be the optimal temperature. All germination traits of both CUF-101 and alfalfa genotypes decreased drastically due to the interactive effects of the highest temperature and increasing salt levels. Genotype 16 was found to be the alfalfa genotype closest to CUF-101, while genotype 9 was indicated the least similar genotype to CUF-101.