Genotype-specific Patterns of Physiological, Photosynthetic, and Biochemical Responses in Faba Bean Contrasting Pair to Salinity

To understand the salinity tolerance mechanism in faba bean contrasting pair to salinity (cv. Chourouk as sensitive and cv. Najeh as tolerant), we evaluated the effect of high salt concentration (150 mM NaCl) on the photosynthetic, physiological, and biochemical parameters at short and long term of treatment (1 and 6 days, respectively) in the seedling stage. In general, the salinity affects the growth of plants. High salinity decreased all studied parameters, especially transpiration rate (E), stomatol conductance (gs), net CO2 assimilation (A), and substomatal CO2 concentration (Ci), and dramatic changes was registered in cv. Chourouk compared to cv. Najeh. Chlorophyll contents were also affected by salinity, especially in the sensitive variety. In addition, the synthesis of osmolytes (proline) was determinate, to understand whether the osmotic adjustment is a mechanism used by cv. Najeh to tolerate salt stress. Our research suggests that cv. Najeh should be introduced in a crossbreeding program as an elite salt-tolerant germplasm