Potential Impact of Salt Stress on Male Reproductive Development of Glycine Max (L.) Merr. (Soybean)

Product yield and the continuity of the quality of products of plants are in parallel with their ability to tolerate or adapt to environmental factors. For this reason, it is extremely important to determine the changes in the plants under various stress conditions. Male reproductive structures are directly related to product yield and quality, and they're very sensitive to abiotic stress. Stress causes irreversible damage to plants depending on its amount and duration. The aim of this study is to determine the sensitivity of male reproductive structures of soybean seedlings and the critical salt concentration at which fertile pollen grains could be obtained in our soils whose salinity is increasing day by day. The selected soybean seedlings were exposed to increasing salt concentrations (50, 100, 150, 200, 250mM) for 6 months and they were compared with a control group in terms of flowering, pollen morphology (pollen size, exine and intine thickness, aperture structures), pollen viability, pollen germination, and pollen tube length. It was determined that, by affecting the growth process of soybean at varying grades, salt stress causes deformations in the plant's reproductive structures and decreases it's tolerance to salt stress.