Determination of in vitro salt testing efficiency and salinity tolerance of different pepper (Capsicum annum L.) genotypes

This study was conducted to determine salt-tolerance levels of different pepper genotypes and to determine of correlation the efficiency of in vitro and hydroponic culture salt-testing procedures. For this purposes, 7 different pepper genotypes were subjected to control (0 mM) and 5 different NaCl levels 50, 100, 125, 150 mM in in vitro and hydroponic culture to determine salt-tolerance. Different pepper genotypes exhibited different responses to different NaCl doses and significant correlations were observed between in vitro and hydroponic culture testing for some of the investigated parameters. In vitro germination had the significant correlation with Shoot Fresh Weight (0.80) and Root Dry Weight (0.85). On the other hand, in vitro plant height highly correlated with hydroponic NaCl testing parameters and had the highest correlation with Root Dried Weight (0.71). There were also high correlations between in vitro root length and hydroponic NaCl testing parameters such Shoot Fresh Weight (0,84), Root Dry Weight (0.85) and Leaf Area (0.77). Present findings proved that in vitro salt-testing was a simple and cheap method. Thus, it could be preferred by the breeders just to get reliable outcomes in a short time.