Screening Oryza Sativa L. for Salinity Tolerance During Vegetative Stage for the Coastal Region of Niger-Delta Nigeria

Background and Objective: The coastal region of Niger Delta of Nigeria is favourable for rice production because of the swampy nature, but rice productivity is very low due high level of salinity in the soil. The objectives of this study was to identify promising salt tolerant genotypes for the deployment into this salt stressed region and also for population improvement for salt breeding programme. Materials and Methods: Two potted experiments comprise the same twenty genotypes were established concurrently in coastal soil and controlled sterilized top soil in two replications in a randomized complete block design at the University of Port Harcourt teaching and research farm. Results: Most of the genotypes showed differential response to salinity stress, the protocol used for the screening could be effective as significant difference was observed based on t-test for the two experiments. Salinity scores showed significan negetative association with number of tillers and leaf area index (LAI). Principal component 1 contributed 44.21% and 38.44% of the total variation in the control and coastal soil experiments, respectively. Conclusion: Genotypes IR 84105-5-B-1-B-3 and IR 84105-5-B-1-B-2 maybe promising for deployment into this salinity stressed region. The leave area index and tillering ability of the rice crop are major yield components, their high weight and factor loading values indicate that they are purtative traits for salinity tolerant, which could be used for population development in salinity breeding programme