Evaluation of aluminium tolerance in a spring rye collection by hydroponic screening

• Published in: Plant breeding Vol. 121; no. 3; pp. 241 - 248
• Main Authors: Hede, A. R., Skovmand, B., Ribaut, J.-M., González-de-León, D., Stølen, O.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.06.2002; Blackwell
• Subjects: Adaptation to environment and cultivation conditions; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; aluminium screening; aluminium toxicity; Biological and medical sciences; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetics and breeding of economic plants; root vigour; Secale cereale; Varietal selection. Specialized plant breeding, plant breeding aims; Monocotyledones; Secale cereale; Tolerance; Aluminium; Cereal crop; Screening; Phytotoxicity; Gramineae; Hydroponic cultivation; Genetic improvement; Angiospermae; Spermatophyta; Vigor
• ISSN: 0179-9541; 1439-0523
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1439-0523.2002.00706.x

Aluminium (A1) tolerance of 63 rye accessions from a world spring rye collection was evaluated using the haematoxylin method and the root growth method. The haematoxylin method is based on the ability of A1‐tolerant seedlings to continue root growth following a short pulse treatment with a high Al concentration, while the root growth method uses the root growth and root tolerance index to judge A1 tolerance. Significantly higher levels of A1 tolerance were found in rye than in the A1‐tolerant bread wheat cultivar ‘Maringa’. Under the assumption that the ability of roots to grow under A1 stress is a combination of root vigour (long roots) and A1 tolerance, a hypothesis allowing for the differentiation of five genotype classes was suggested. This study demonstrated that the haematoxylin method and the root growth parameter identify genotypes with long root growth under A1 stress, but failed to detect A1 tolerance in genotypes with poor root vigour. These genotypes can only be identified using the root tolerance index parameter. However, the haematoxylin method is highly suitable for screening large segregating populations derived from improved germplasm that has been preselected for agronomically preferable traits, including plant vigour.