Abstract

Author:
Shawon Mojumdera, M M Abdur Razzaquea, Md. Jewel Alamb

Doi: 10.26480/trab.02.2025.120.125

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

To evaluate and screen maize genotypes for salinity tolerance, an experiment was conducted in Shibganj Upazila, Bogura district, Bangladesh, during the period from November 2023 to March 2024. The study followed a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with two factors and three replications. Factor A comprised three salinity levels: 0 dsm⁻¹ (control), 10 dsm⁻¹, and 15 dsm⁻¹, while Factor B included six maize genotypes (Mohor, BARI hybrid Butta-5, BARI hybrid Butta-7, BARI hybrid Butta-9, BARI hybrid Butta-10 and BARI hybrid Butta-12) obtained from the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Gazipur. In total, 54 plastic pots were used (6 genotypes × 3 salinity levels × 3 replications). The results of the present study demonstrated that salinity stress exerts a pronounced negative effect on germination, seedling growth, vegetative development, and yield attributes of maize. Increasing salinity from 0 dsm⁻¹ to 15 dsm⁻¹ resulted in progressive and significant reductions in all measured parameters, including germination percentage, root and coleoptile length, plant fresh weight, plant height, cob size, grain weight per cob, and grain yield. Across all salinity levels, marked genotypic variation was observed. Based on the results of yield performance, 10dsm-1 showed the best than other tested salinity level. Considering the salinity level at 10dsm-1 and the performance of genotypes, BARI Hybrid Butta-9 consistently recorded the highest values in both growth (germination-83.45%, Coleoptile length-10.36%, root length-13.47%, plant fresh weight-70.12g and plant height-171.59cm) and yield traits (Cob length-13.66cm, cob diameter-11.03cm, grain weight per cob-130.76g and yield-5.67t/ha), maintaining comparatively better performance under saline conditions, indicating strong salt tolerance. In contrast, BARI Hybrid Butta-7 exhibited the lowest values across parameters, reflecting high sensitivity to salinity stress. These findings highlight the importance of genotype selection for cultivation in saline-prone areas. Considering the salinity and the performance of genotype, BARI Hybrid Butta-9 emerged as the most promising genotype, capable of maintaining higher productivity under salt stress at 10 dsm-1 and could be recommended for breeding programs and commercial cultivation in coastal and other salt-affected regions of Bangladesh..