Effects of Different Water Salinity Levels on Germination Characteristics of Two Quinoa Cultivars (Chenopodium quinoa Willd)

In order to investigate effects of water salinity on germination characteristics of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd), an experiment was conducted in a factorial and randomized complete blocks design with 10 treatments and three replication, in 2020. Salinity factor was considered at five levels (zero, 5, 10, 15 and 20 dS / m) and cultivars at two levels (Titicaca and Redcardina). Effects of salinity, cultivar, and their interaction were significant on germination percentage and its rate, length of shoot, root and seedling, vigor index, stem and root tolerance index. All characteristics were significantly reduced by salinity stress, with higher reduction in Redcardina than Titicaca. Salinity stress up to 5 dS/m had no significant effect on seed germination percentage of Titicaca, while in Redcardina, difference in germination percentage between distilled water (control) and salinity of 5 dS/m was significant. The highest germination percentage (100%) was obtained in treatment without salinity for both Titicaca and Redcardina. Germination percentage at salinity levels of 5, 10, 15 and 20 dS/m in Titicaca decreased by 1.4%, 4.9%, 14.3%, and 21%, and in Redcardina, by 2.6%, 6.6%, 18.3%, and 29.7% compared to the control. Stem length of cultivars at salinity levels of 5, 10, 15 and 20 dS/m compared to the control treatment were reduced by 6.8%, 14%, 27.6%, and 39.6% for Titicaca and 7.3%, 19.9%, 43.7% and 53.8% for Redcardina, respectively. This percentage reduction for root length of Titicaca was 2.1%, 12.6%, 32.6%, and 44.2% and for Redcardina was 6.4%, 21.2%, 38.2% and 57.9%. Salinity stress of 5, 10, 15 and 20 dS/m caused the dry weight of seedlings of Titicaca to decrease by 12.7%, 27.1%, 36.8% and 46.6% and in Redcardina by 11.4%, 27.8%, 45%, and 57.1%. Based on the results, Redcardina cultivar was more sensitive to salinity stress during germination than Titicaca.