EFFECT OF NaCl ON THE EMBRYO RESCUE OF Nitraria sibirica

An embryo culture method for breaking seed dormancy in Nitraria sibirica Pall collected in different populations under various levels of soil salinization has been developed for the first time. The first seedlings were observed on the second day of cultivation. Germination varied from 77,6% tо 89,5% depending on the locality of seed collection. Seedlings with first true leaves without radicals were used as explant to develop an efficient regeneration system. The highest multiplication rate (5.5 shoots per explant) was archieved on MS supplemented with 2 mg l-1 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BA) with 0.1 mg l-1 indole-3-butyric (IBA) for genotypes from the population under moderate salinity level. Optimum shoot multiplication of genotypes from populations under high and very high salinity levels was obtained on MS medium supplemented with 2 mg l-1 6-BA resulting in production of 2,8 and 2,3 shoots per explant, respectively. Addition of NaCl to culture media decreased shoot regeneration response and influenced on growth microclone parameters in all variants of experiment. The rooting efficiency of microshoots on hormone free MS media depended on the studied genotypes. The highest percentage of rooted shoots (83,2%) was obtained for genotypes from population under moderate salinity.