The experiment was conducted from November 2017 to February 2018 at Plant Physiology Laboratory, Plant Physiology Division, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI). Forty five (45) genotypes of Grasspea (BD-4792, BD-4801, BD-4829, BD-4830, BD-4833, BD4834, BD-4842, BD-4843, BD-4844, BD-4845, BD-4846, BD-4851, BD-4856, BD-4860, BD-4875, BD-4877, BD4894, BD-4897, BD-4899, BD-4909, BD-4916, BD-4945, BD-5099, BD-5106, BD-5115, BD-5143, BD-5150, BD5151, BD-5152, BD-5164, BD-5168, BD-5172, BD-5191, BD-5192, BD-5193, BD-5194, BD-5195, BD-5196, BD5197, BD-5198, BD-5199 and BD-5200) were collected from plant Genetics Resource Center (PGRC), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Joydebpur, Gazipur-1701, Bangladesh were used in the study. The experiment assessed the germination percentages (GP), root growth (cm), shoot growth (cm) and dry matter/ plant (g) of grasspea genotypes at different NaCl salinity levels. The NaCl concentrations were used 0 (control/ No salt), 5, 10, and 15 dS/m. The salt solution was prepared calculated amount of NaCl in distilled water. Subsequently, ten plants/pot were transferred to hydroponic culture in a Hoagland solution (The Hoagland solution: tap water ratio was 1:10 (w/w)) for an additional quantity The pH of the solution was maintained at 6-7. Plastic pots were used in the experiment with a diameter of 10cm and arranged in a completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications. Each pot was supplied with 500ml of the respective treatment solution. Seeds were sown on the plastic pots having blotting paper. The germination count was taken after 72 hours of sowing of seeds. A seed was considered to have germinated when both the plumule and the radicle emerged > 0.5cm. After 15 days, the shoot and the root length of ten randomly selected seedlings from each replicate were measured following a draftsman ruler.
Germination percentage (GP): The average number of days required for plumule or radicle emergence was calculated as described by Ahmed et al., (2015).
Germination percentage (GP) = a/b x 100 Where, a = Number of seeds germinated b = Total numbers of seeds set
The plants were then collected from the pots and the following measurements were done i. Root Length (cm). ii. Shoot Length (cm)
Statistical Analysis Data analysis was carried out by MSTAT-C where two ways analysis of variance (ANOVA) and correlation analysis were employed. Prior to data analysis, root and shoot length was log-transformed. Consequently, the incomplete data obtained from these salinity levels had been excluded from the analysis of germination percentage (GP), germination rate (GR), root length (RL), shoot length (SL), and dry matter/plant.