WATER AND PHYSIOLOGICAL RESPONSES OF OKRA ABELMOSCHUS ESCULENTUS UNDER SALINE STRESS GROWN ON A BENTONIZED SUBSTRATE

Abstract

In many arid and semi-arid regions of the world, Salinity has become an important problem for agricultural production. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different treatments of NaCl (Control, 100 mM and 300 mM) for 7 days, on young okra plants (Abelmoschus esculentus), grown in two types of substrate with (B7%) and without bentonite (SB) under controlled greenhouse conditions. The results showed that the two factors (salinity and bentonite) imposed in our study have a significant effect on the water status estimated by RWC, RWL and DHS in addition of the accumulation of the osmoregulator (proline, soluble sugars).