Effects of salt stress on seed germination and seedling physiological characteristics of Rumex

In order to analyze the tolerance of imported Rumex (Rumex patientia × R. tianschanicus cv. Rumex) to salt stress, the germination rate and seedling physiological characteristics of Rumex grown in media with NaCl were studied. The imported Rumex from Ukraine was marked as Material 1, and the native one as control was marked as Material 2. The performance of Material 1 and Material 2 were measured under different concentrations of NaCl (0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 mmol·L-1). The results showed that the germination rate of Material 1 was significantly higher than that of Material 2 (P<0.05) after 7 days growth in stress. Furthermore, after being treated with 150 mmol·L-1 NaCl for 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15 d, the superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase activities in Material 1 were significantly higher than those in Material 2 (P<0.05) whereas the MDA content in Material 1 was significantly lower than that in Material 2 (P<0.05). These results suggested that Material 1, the imported Rumex from Russia, had a higher salt tolerance than Material 2. Material 1 was an excellent breeding material for saline soil.