Assessment of salinity tolerance on chili pepper genotypes

¹ University of Bengkulu, Department of Crop Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Bengkulu, Indonesia
² University of Bengkulu, Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Bengkulu, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: rustikawati@unib.ac.id

Abstract

Population diversity is necessary in selecting salinity tolerant plants. The objective of the study was to evaluate the tolerance of chili pepper (Capsicum sp.) to salinity stress. The evaluation was carried out artificially in a greenhouse. Twenty-four accessions of chili were grown on hydroponic media with stress treatment of 3000 ppm and 6000 ppm NaCl. As a comparison, the control was planted without NaCl. Nutrients were given from the AB mix nutrient solution containing macro and micronutrients. The study used a completely randomized design with 3 replications. To evaluate the ability of the genotype to adapt to NaCl stress, the difference between control and observations at 6000 ppm NaCl stress was calculated. The results showed that the growth of chili pepper genotypes under NaCl stress varied widely. There was an interaction between the genotype and the stress level of NaCl on leaf greenness and the number of stomata. In general, the stress of 3000 ppm NaCl significantly reduced chili performance starting from 6 weeks after transplanting. The stress of 6000 ppm NaCl caused some sensitive plants to die at 8 weeks after transplanting. The tolerant genotypes at 6000 ppm NaCl stress were A10, A21, and A33.