Effect of different NaCl concentrations on seed germination and early seedling growth of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L)

An experiment was conducted in pots at the demonstration farm of College of Agriculture, University of Bahri, Sudan during 2016 - 2017 seasons to study the effect of different NaCl concentration in soil on seed germination and seedling growth of sugar beet. The experiment was arranged in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications and four treatments of sodium chloride concentrations in soil; they were 4 dS/m, 8 dS/m, 12 dS/m, and 16 dS/m referred to as S1, S2, S3, and S4 respectively. The results showed that the applications of four levels of NaCl concentration on silt soil revealed significant increased between the treatments that effect sugar beet seed germination, leaves number of seedling, leaf area index and root length, also the results appeared no significant effect on leaves dry weight, root dry weight and root diameter of seedling. The study concluded that Sugar beet is a salt-tolerant crop, but it's sensitive to salinity during germination and seedling growth. In the present study, the best level of sodium chloride, which gives highest growth, was 4dS/m, where the lowest growth parameters were found in 16dS/m.