A pot experiment was conducted to determine the effect of salinity on growth nodulation and nitrogen content of Sesbania sesban. Fifteen days old S. sesban seedlings grown in sandy loam soil were irrigated with NaCl solution of 0.034 mol/L, 0.069 mol/L, 0.103 mol/L, 0.137 mol/L and 0.172 mol/L. The plants were harvested after 80 days. Fresh and dry weight of shoots and roots and root- shoot ratio decreased progressively with the increasing salinity levels. Root showed more inhibition than shoot. Nodules were observed on the roots of plants growing in all fi ve salinity levels but they showed morphological alterations in size and shape. The number and size of the nodules per plant and their fresh and dry weight decreased with increasing salinity levels. The percentage of tissue nitrogen also decreased progressively with the increasing salinity levels.

nodulation; nitrogen-fixation; salinity; Sesbania sesban; Papilionoideae; Rhizobium

Published by University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagreb, CROATIA
Sponsored by Ministry Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia