BIODIVERSITAS ISSN: 1412-033X Volume 21, Number 5, May 2020 E-ISSN: 2085-4722 Pages: 2188-2200 DOI: 10.13057/biodiv/d210547 Germination and salinity tolerance of seeds of sixteen Fabaceae species in Thailand for reclamation of salt-affected lands YONGKRIAT KU-OR1, NISA LEKSUNGNOEN1,2,♥, DAMRONGVUDHI ONWIMON3, PEERAPAT DOOMNIL1 1Department of Forest Biology, Faculty of Forestry, Kasetsart University. 50 Phahonyothin Rd, Lat yao, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand 2Center for Advanced Studies in Tropical Natural Resources, National Research University, Kasetsart University. 50 Phahonyothin Rd, Lat yao, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand. ♥email:
[email protected] 3Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Kasetsart University. 50 Phahonyothin Rd, Lat Yao, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand. Manuscript received: 26 March 2020. Revision accepted: 24 April 2020. Abstract. Ku-Or Y, Leksungnoen N, Onwinom D, Doomnil P. 2020. Germination and salinity tolerance of seeds of sixteen Fabaceae species in Thailand for reclamation of salt-affected lands. Biodiversitas 21: 2188-2200. Over the years, areas affected by salinity have increased dramatically in Thailand, resulting in an urgent need for reclamation of salt-affected areas using salinity tolerant plant species. In this context, seed germination is an important process in plant reproduction and dispersion. This research aimed to study the ability of 16 fabaceous species to germinate and tolerate salt concentrations of at 6 different levels (concentration of sodium chloride solution, i.e., 0, 8, 16, 24, 32, and 40 dS m-1). The germination test was conducted daily for 30 days, and parameters such as germination percentage, germination speed, and germination synchrony were calculated. The electrical conductivity (EC50) was used to compare the salt-tolerant ability among the 16 species.