Resumo

ESTRADA-TREJO, Victoria et al. Diversity of native populations for germination of tomato under saline conditions. Rev. Mex. Cienc. Agríc [online]. 2014, vol.5, n.6, pp.1067-1079. ISSN 2007-0934.

In Mexico some tomato growing regions like northwest have salinity problems. This problem also occurs under greenhouse conditions when nutrition and irrigation management are done improperly, this is exacerbated when heavy water is used for irrigation. Salinity affects tomato crops, so having tolerant materials to such conditions would be of great benefit. Mexico is rich in genetic diversity of this species, same that can be used to search for sources tolerant to salinity. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the physiological behavior of 34 populations of native tomatoes from Puebla and Veracruz and two commercial controls under saline conditions using five concentrations of sodium chloride (0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1%), in order to identify outstanding germplasm tolerant to salinity in the germination stage. The experiment was performed at the Laboratory of seeds from the Postgraduate College in Agricultural Sciences in 2013. The evaluated variables were: germination percentage, germination rate, aerial dry matter and root dry matter. The results indicate that the seed vigor was negatively affected in 100% of the collections, germination in 78% and development of morphological structures of seedling as root, hypocotyl and cotyledons, the negative effect was 33%. Of the 36 genotypes tested, eight collections showed different degrees of tolerance. These populations can be used as potential sources for breeding.

Palavras-chave : Solanum lycopersicum L.; sodium chloride; salinity; germination.