Effects of Different Drought and Salinity Levels on Seed Germination of Citrullus colocynthis

Environmental stresses, especially salinity and drought, are effective on seed germination and growth.
After breaking seed dormancy by simultaneous use of leaching (48 hours) and gibberllic acid (1000 ppm), germination characteristics and seedling growth of Citrullus colocynthis from two ecotypes of Sistan-Baluchestan with six levels of drought (0, -0.3, -0.6, -0.9, -1.2, -1.5 Mpa) and salinity (0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 mM) were studied. This experiment was carried out in two different factorial experiments using completely randomized design with four replications. Statistical analysis was performed using version 18 of SPSS software and Factorial analysis of variance (general linear model) and mean comparisons were done using Duncan's multiple range test. The results demonstrated that there were significant differences among different levels of drought and salinity in all measured traits (PDiscussion and This species has acceptable germination at -0.6 Mpa droughts and 50 mM salinity. These issues must be considered in its intense planting in Sistan-Baluchestan province and using of Zabol’ ecotype seed is recommended.