Germination characteristics of 10 alfalfa varieties under Na2CO3 stress

To clarify the seed germination characteristics of alfalfa under Na2CO3 stress, 10 alfalfa varieties were utilized in the present study, and the effects of different concentrations of Na2CO3 (0, 0.1%, 0.15%, 0.2%, and 0.3%) on the main seed germination characteristics, including germination rate, germination energy, hypocotyl length, and radicle length were measured. The results showed that the salt tolerance of different alfalfa varieties had obvious differences. By increasing Na2CO3 concentration, the germination rate first increased and then decreased, the germination energy was reduced, the plumule length and radicle length were shortened, and the salt tolerance indexes of the different alfalfa varieties were dissimilar. The synthetic analysis of four parameters indicated that the order of Na2CO3 salt resistance was Zhongmu No. 1 > Giant > YL702 > Phabulous > Zhongcao No. 3> Longmu 801 > YL80 > AC Caribou > YL604 > Algonquin.