Oat (Avena sativa L.) is a hardy crop suitable to cultivate in stress conditions, such as drought, poor soil fertility, high salinity, and alkalinity. Thus, it might be a good selection for salt-affected and climatically vulnerable coastal regions of Bangladesh. To justify its suitability in saline soils, two separate experiments were conducted following a completely randomized design with five replications. Seven concentrations (0, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 and 350 mM) of NaCl salt were considered as the treatments. Germination study was conducted under laboratory condition in Petri dish and for vegetative growth study, a pot experiment was conducted in net house. Increased level of salinity remarkably decreased the seed germination as well as the vegetative growth of oat. Higher Timson Germination Index (TGI) was recorded for most of the treatments. A significant variation was also found in the salt tolerance index (STI) based on the seedling dry weight. Significantly lower length and weight of shoot and root in 15 days old seedlings were observed with an increased salt concentration in the substrate. Increased concentration of salt exerted inhibitory effects on plant growth. But with the findings of the experiment, it could be concluded that the oat would be recommended as a fodder crop for the salinity level up to 100 mM for NaCl salt.
Key words: Avena sativa L., NaCl salt stress, germination, plant growth
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