Effect of Seed Priming with Sodium Chloride on the K+/ Na+ Ratio as a Physiological Indicator of Salinity Tolerance during the Early Germination Stages of Wheat

Abstract

A laboratory experiment was conducted at the Soil and Water Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Omar Al-Mukhtar University, to evaluate the effect of seed priming with 0.25% NaCl solution for 24 hours on the physiological K⁺/Na⁺ ratio as an indicator of salt tolerance during early germination stages in wheat (cv. 208). The experiment was conducted in a factorial arrangement using a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four salinity levels (0, 1, 1.5, 2%) applied in the nutrient solution. Results showed that primed seeds outperformed non-primed ones, with an average root length of 10.3 cm compared to 8.83 cm, and an average shoot length of 21.1 cm versus 17.7 cm. The average fresh weight of primed seedlings was 0.44 g compared to 0.28 g, and the dry weight was 0.20 g compared to 0.03 g. The highest values were observed at 1.5% salinity under priming, including root length (11.6 cm), shoot length (24.2 cm), seedling vigor index (32.9), and K⁺/Na⁺ ratio (1.39). These findings highlight the potential of seed priming as a simple, low-cost technique to enhance ionic balance and salt tolerance during early wheat development under saline conditions.