Abstract
Pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millspaugh) is one of the important leguminous crops of arid and semiarid region used traditionally as food, fodder and fuel. In this study the salinity tolerance of this crop was investigated at earlier phase of crop production. Experiments were conducted to find out seed germination and seedling growth at variable salinity levels 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.25 and 0.3% sea salt under laboratory and greenhouse conditions. Results indicated that all investigated parameters were significantly affected by stress applied. A progressive decline in germination percent germination, rate of germination, coefficient of germination velocity and mean germination index were recorded to decline with increasing sea salt concentrations. However, mean germination time increased with increasing salinity. Similarly, under greenhouse conditions seedling emergence and shoot height were significantly reduced at 2.54 and 2.1 dS.m -1 , respectively. Present studies indicated that this crop is salt sensitive at germination stage.
