Salinity is global concern, most commonly in agricultural land of arid and semi-arid area. To study the effect of salinity stress on wheat landraces we aimed to study the seedling characteristics of wheat landraces under salinity stress. The study followed a two-factor Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with four replications. Four different concentrations of NaCl (0mM, 25mM, 50mM, 75mM) and five landraces (Bhartale, Jhuse, Rato gahun, Mudule, Aadhikhole) were used for investigation during the germination and early seedling stages of wheat landraces. The highest germination percentage (GP) (97.25%)) and seed vigor index (SVI) (92886) were observed in jhuse, whereas the lowest GP (60.50%) and SVI (11494) were observed in Rato gahun. Rato gahun had the highest mean germination time (MGT) (5.99 days), and Mudule had the lowest mean germination time (4.82 days). The maximum fresh weight (0.12 g) and dry weight (DW) (0.042 g) were recorded by Aadhikhole and Jhuse and minimum fresh weight (DW) (0.10 g) and DW (0.032 g) were observed in Mudule. The maximum shoot and root lengths were observed in Bhartale (3.05 cm) and Jhuse (3.54 cm), whereas the minimum shoot length (SL) (2.07 cm) and root length (RL) (2.41 cm) were observed in Rato gahun. Above all, salinity stress has negative impact on wheat seedling characteristics and mudule shows some promising stress tolerance compared to other.

Keywords: seedling stage; Salinity stress; wheat landraces; Mudule