Performance of some soybean Glycine max (L.) Merrill. cultivars under salinity stress to germination characters

In order to examine the effect of osmotic stress on six soybean cultivars i.e. Giza 21, Giza 22, Giza 35, Giza 82, Giza 83 and Giza 111 at germination stage to salinity stress i.e. 0, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 dSm-1 NaCl and to confirm seedling germination to examine a range of genetic variability for salinity tolerance among soybean cultivars. A laboratory experiment was conducted at Giza Central Seed Testing Laboratory of Central Administration for Seed Certification (CASC), Ministry of Agriculture, Egypt during the period of April to June 2014. The results clearly showed that soybean cultivars significantly varied in averages of final germination percentage, mean germination time, germination index, vigor index and energy of germination. Results indicated that Giza 82 and Giza 111 cultivars exceeded other studied cultivars in germination percentage and energy of germination. Results showed that Giza 21 cultivar exceeded other studied cultivars in seedling vigor index. Moreover, Giza 35 cultivar recorded highest values of mean germination time. Results clearly showed that increasing salinity levels from 0 to15 dSm-1 significantly decreased germination percentage, germination index, and seedling vigor index. The control treatment recorded the highest averages of these characters except mean germination time. Final germination percentage, mean germination time, seedling vigor index and energy of germination significantly affected by the interaction between soybean cultivars and salinity concentrations. It could be summarized that for maximizing soybean germination characters of studied soybean cultivars under salinity stress are producing by using Giza 22 and Giza 82 cultivars These cultivars were more tolerant to salinity and recommended to use in breeding program for enhancing soybean production in newly reclaimed soils of Egypt.