GENETIC-ANALYSIS OF SALT TOLERANCE IN SPRING WHEAT (TRITICUM-AESTIVUML)

Genetics of salinity tolerance in spring wheat was investigated using the six basic generations (P-1, P-2, F-1, F-2 and back crosses, BC1 an d BC2) of a cross between Alexandria (salt sensitive) and KRLl-4 (salt tolerant) varieties. The simple inheritance of ion uptake (Na+, K+ & Cl- contents in leaf sap), grain yield and yield components and the in terrelationships between these traits showed that they were under the control of some common genes which could be easily exploited in breedi ng programmes. The narrow sense heritability values of F-2 and F-alpha generations for grain weight per plant were 75 and 86% respectively a nd varied between 70 and 95% for ion content. The results suggest that it may be possible to obtain salt-tolerant and high yielding recombin ant lines with a relatively simple breeding procedure involving no pro geny tests.