Salinity tolerance in varieties of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) during the stages of germination, emergence and early growth

Knowing the salinity tolerance of crops is important in making recommendations to farmers on the most productive cultivar to grow in saline soils, considering that soils a ected by salt are more and more common worldwide. This study evaluated the salinity tolerance of twenty varieties of basil during the stages of germination, emergence and early growth, considering morphometric variables. Two saline treatments were applied (50 and 100 mM NaCl), together with a control. During the stages of germination and emergence, tolerance indices were calculated for radicle length, fresh and dry radicle biomass, and fresh and dry shoot biomass, whereas during the initial growth stage, tolerance indices were calculated for stem length, root length, biomass of fresh and dry root, stem and leaf, and leaf area. A hierarchical cluster analysis with complete linkage based on Euclidean distances formed ve groups of plant varieties according to the tolerance indices recorded during the germination stage, three groups during the emergence stage and two groups during the initial growth stage, indicating intra-variety genetic diversity in the studied varieties. Of the varieties analysed during the three phenological stages, the Napoletano variety was the most tolerant and the Sweet Genovese the most sensitive, to salinity.