Morphological and Physiological Performances of 18 Soybean Varieties Exposed to Salinity Stress

Increasing soybean production can be done by growing the crops in marginal soil, such as saline soil. Therefore, saline-tolerant genotypes are important to support the cultivation. The objective of the experiment was to evaluate the performance of 18 soybean varieties grown under salinity stress. The experiment was done from May to July 2021 at the greenhouse of the Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Bengkulu University, about 10 m above sea level. Soybean seedlings were grown in 10 cm diameter plastic pots fertilized with AB-mix solutions supplemented with 0 or 6 dSm-1 NaCl for 15 days. The growth and stress-tolerant index of the seedlings were measured. The results showed that soybean variety had different growth as responses to salinity. Moreover, salinity stress imposed at 6 dSm-1 NaCl significantly reduced crops growth and promoted leaf senescence. We found that 18 soybeans varieties were classified as salinity tolerant at 6 dSm-1. Keywords: saline, soybean varieties, tolerant