Effects of Compound Salt Stress on Germination of 7 Maize Varieties

【Objective】 To screen out salt-tolerant maize varieties suitable for planting in salinized soil in Xinjiang. 【Methods】 Seven maize materials were prepared with salt solution in natural saline soil in the field. The germination potential, germination rate, length of radicle and germ, fresh weight of radicle and germ could bewere used to reflect the salt tolerance of seeds at germination stage from multiple angles. 【Results】 The results showed that under salt stress, the germination rate, germination potential, number of r oots, length and weight of embryo and radicle of all maize varieties decreased gradually with the increase of salt concentration, and there were great differences among different varieties. Among them, the related indexes of New Xinyu 102 and Xinyu 110 decreased less than that of the control under the same salt concentration, showing a strong tolerance to salt, while the indexes of KWS3376 and KWS2564 decreased more than that of the control, showing a sensitivitysensitivity to salt, showing and a salt intolerance. 【Conclusion】 Xinyu 102 and Xinyu 110 were selected as maize varieties with high salt tolerance. Under these conditions, the germination potential, germination rate, length and weight of germ and radicle of maize decreased significantly when the content was over 0.9%, which seriously affected the germination of maize.