Compatative study of tomato and maize plant growth under different salt conditions

Plants of tomato and maize were grown in hydroponic solution with and without the addition of sodium chloride in order to evaluate some growth parameters of one C-3 and one C-4 species, After 30 days under the saline stress treatment there was no significant difference between both species regarding to leaf biomass allocation. The stem biomass allocation decreased for both the tomato and the maize plants, This was due to salt treatment, while root biomass allocation increased. The Absolute growth rare was the most affected parameter by the NaCl treatment for which values were obtained for both species. The leaf area also decreased due to the sodium chloride treatment. The leaf area rate increased for the stressed tomato plants, while it tend to decrease for maize plants under saline treatment.