Effects of Salinity Stress on Some Growth, Physiological, and Biochemical Parameters in Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) Germplasm

The production of cotton is negatively affected by salinity. For this purpose, 8 parents and their 16 F1 hybrids were evaluated under saline stress (15 dSm−1) in Line × Tester fashion. Mean values of plant height, number of bolls plant−1, boll weight, lint weight, seed cotton yield plant−1, seed index, no. of seeds boll−1, seed mass boll−1, lint mass boll−1, seed volume per 100 seeds, fiber strength, fiber length, lint%, K+, K+/Na+ ratio, CAT, TSP, chlorophyll a, b, and relative water contents decreased under salt stress whilst the values of lint index, seed density, fiber fineness, Na+, H2O2, SOD, POD carotenoids, malondialdehyde, phenolic contents, ascorbic acid, and flavonoids increased under saline conditions. Under saline MS-71× CRS-2007, MS-71× KAHKASHAN, and IUB-65 × FH-312 exhibited performed better than other genotypes for most traits. For fiber quality traits IUB-65× CRS-2007 and IUB-65× FH-312 showed the highest value under salt stress. Improved identified cotton genotypes can enhance our capacity to grow cotton in salt-affected soils and the key morpho-biochemical traits can potentially be exploited to obtain higher and more stable crops yield under stressed environments.