CARBON-ISOTOPE DISCRIMINATION IN WHEAT UNDER SALINE CONDITIONS

A study using 21 cultivars of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and a salt tolerant barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) showed significant variation in D elta (discrimination against C-13 during photosynthetic CO2-uptake) am ong cultivars and salinity levels. Salinity reduced straw, grain weigh t and the average value of Delta in all the cultivars. The reduction c aused by salinity varied among cultivars. Barley had larger values of Delta than did wheat and there was a positive correlation between Delt a and production of straw (r=0.36), grain (r=0.44) and total biomass ( r=0.47).