Morphological characterization of rengeland plants (Vicia sativa, Secale cereale, Sanguisorba minor & Trifolium pretense) in response to salinity and drougth stresses with hydroponic cultivation

To evaluate salinity and drought stresses as experiments in a completely randomized design with three replications, the present research was conducted at the seedling stage. Plants under study were Trifolium pratense, Vicia sativa, Sanguisorba minor and Secale cereale. Salinity and drought levels applied to the seven levels of NaCl (control, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 bar) and nine levels of mannitol (control, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 bar). The results showed that root length, shoot length, root and shoot weight of seedlings were decreased with the increase of the concentrations of NaCl and Mannitol in comparison with the control treatment. Vicia sativa had the maximum length of roots and shoots among the four examined plants which were respectively 34.06 and 43.5 cm. According to the results of the present study, Vicia sativa had the highest tolerance to salinity and drought stresses while Secale cereale, Sanguisorba minor and Trifolium pratense had the minimum tolerance to salinity and drought stresses.