INTERACTION OF SALINITY AND TEMPERATURE ON THE GERMINATION OF ALFALFACV CUF-101

Alfalfa, Medicago sativa L is a major forage legume in the arid climat e of the Gulf countries where salinity is a serious production problem . A laboratory experiment was initiated to evaluate the effect of sali nity - temperature interactions on the germination of alfalfa cv CUF 1 01. The alfalfa seeds were sown in Petri dishes with saline solutions of varying concentrations (electrical conductivities of 0.01, 6.4, 12. 2, 17.4, 22.6, 27.2, 32.1 and 37.2 dSm-1) prepared with NaCl. The germ ination response of the seeds were determined over a wide range of tem peratures (15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40-degrees-C) for a period of 8 d. G ermination counts, taken every 2 d, were used to compute germination r ate index. Generally, germination percentage decreased with increasing salinity and was severely limited at 40-degrees-C. Salinity-temperatu re interactions were highly significant. The optimum germination tempe rature was 20-25-degrees-C. Based on these results, the most favourabl e period to establish alfalfa cv CUF 101 in the Sultanate of Oman and other areas with similar climatic conditions has been proposed.