Abstract
In order to study whether salt tolerance at the initial growth stage is conferred at the adult stage and to evaluate the
estimates of genetic variability parameters, heritability and genetic advance, three tolerant (CLN2498A, BL1176 and
CLN1621L) and two non-tolerant (17902 and LO2875) tomato genotypes, selected at the initial growth stage were
tested for both absolute and relative values of growth at three levels of NaCl (control, 10dS m-1 and 15dS m-1) for
various flowering and maturity parameters. Significant differences were found for all the traits such as plant height,
number of trusses/plant, number of flowers/truss, fruit length, fruit width, average fruit weight, Na+
concentration, K+
concentration and K+
/Na+
ratio. It was observed that salinity caused reduction in all the yield components of tomato
genotypes but least reduction was noted in CLN2498A, BL1176 and CLN1621L.High heritability estimates for plant
height and K+
concentration coupled with high genetic advance in both low (10dS m-1) and high (15dS m-1) salinities
suggested a potential for genetic improvement through breeding and selection.
