Degree of salt tolerance in some newly developed maize (Zea mays L.) varieties. Maria Zahoor*, Rehana Khaliq, Zafar Ullah Zafar and Habib-ur-Rehman Athar

Salinity is a major abiotic-stress worldwide which decreases crop growth productivity. The objective of the present study was to investigate whether salt stress has adverse effects on growth, photosynthetic efficiency, biochemical properties and nutrient status of maize. An experiment was carried out with seeds of four varieties of maize which were allowed to germinate for one week. Afterwards, one-week old maize seedlings of each variety were subjected to 0, 150 mM NaCl for four weeks. Significant decreasing effect by salinity was found in shoot-root fresh and dry biomass, chlorophyll contents, total soluble proteins and macronutrients of all maize varieties. From the results, it is obvious that amino acids concentration increased under salinity as compared to control in all maize varieties.