INFLUENCE OF HYDRATION DEHYDRATION OF COTTON SEEDS ON OVERCOMING THE EFFECTS OF SALINITY ON GERMINATION

This study evaluated the viability of hidration/dehydration techniques to overcome the deleterious effects of salinity on cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) cultivars BR-1, Deltapine Smooth Leaf and Texas during germination. Before sowing, one group of seeds of these three cotton cultivars received no previous treatment (treatment A1). Another group was hydrated for six hours and slowly dehydrated for fourteen hours (treatment A2). A third group, besides hydration/dehydration was subjected to six hours of controlled rehydration (treatment A3). Seeds of cotton cultivars divided in these three treatments were sown in distilled water or NaCl solution of -0.8 MPa. Hydration/dehydration or hydration/dehydration/rehydration treatment reduced the deleterious effects of salinity on germination and root growth of cultivars. The significance of hydration/dehydration of seeds of cotton to overcome the deleterious effects of NaCl by increasing the percentage of seed germination and stimulating root development is discussed.