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Alfalfa Seed Germination in Antiobiotic Agar Containing NaCl¹

The development of cultivars with the ability to germinate under high salt stress would be useful in the reclamation of saline soils. One of the major problems has been the development of uniform, repeatable methods for selecting for the ability to germinate under salt stress conditions. Our objectives were to determine if agar could be successfully used as a saline medium to rapidly screen large numbers of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) seeds for ability to germinate under salt stress, and if progress through selection could be made for this trait. Seeds from 15 different alfalfa cultivars were germinated on agar containing varying concentrations of NaCl. Significant differences among the cultivars were observed for ability to germinate under salt stress. Selection within ‘Ladak 65’ at 1.75% NaCl in the agar medium resulted in a 3.75 fold increase in germination at that salt concentration. Selection within Ladak 65 using NaCl on blotters did not improve germination on saline agar.

Key Words: Alfalfa • Salt tolerance • Germination • Antiobiotic agar

² Former research assistant (currently alfalfa breeder, Cargill, Minneapolis, Minn.), professor and associate professor, respectively, Dep. of Plant and Soil Science, associate professor of plant pathology, Dep. of Plant Pathology, and associate professor of statistics, Dep. of Mathematical Sciences, Montana State Univ., Bozeman, MT, 59717, respectively.

Received for publication July 6, 1982.

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