Study of morphological characters of Foeniculum vulgare under salt stress

Study of the salinity tolerance in medicinal plants is very important for cultivating them in saline lands. A factorial experiment based on completely randomized design was carried out in order to study the effect of salt stress on 'Foeniculum vulgare' plants in hydroponic condition. The accessions of F. vulgare were originated from Isfahan, Ardabil, East Azerbaijan, Europe, Tehran, Yazd, Estahban and Shiraz. Salinity levels include 0 (control), 50, 100, 150 and 200 mM sodium chloride with four replications in the germination stage and three replications in the seedling stage. The results showed a significant reduction in germination rate, germination percentage, roots length, shoots length, plants vigor, root dry weight, shoot dry weight; shoot weight/root weight and biomass with increase of salt stress. There was a significant difference between accessions at presence of salt. Shiraz accession showed the lowest reduction in germination stage compared with the control. In the seedling stage, Yazd accession showed the lowest reduction compared with the control.