Effects of Salinity on In vitro Shoot Proliferation and Rooting of Apple Rootstock MM.106

In the present study, the in vitro response of MM.106 apple rootstock to increasing concentrations of NaCl (0, 20, 40, 80, 100 and 120 mM) in the Murashige and Skoog culture medium was analyzed. Explant growth was seriously affected by salinity treatments. Elevated salinity from 20 (control) to 40, 80, 100 and 120 mM NaCl resulted in reduction in shoot growth (shoot number, length and fresh weight) and rooting (rooting percentage, root number and length). At 20 mM NaCl the shoot length, fresh weight and root length was increased significantly as compared with the control. At 120 mM NaCl the shoot length were adversely effected and only half length of that in the 20 mM NaCl, whereas the shoot number had slightly decreased.