Evaluating and Modeling of the Seedling Growth Ability of Wheat Seeds as Affected by Shallow-Saline Groundwater Conditions

Abstract

The adverse effects of shallow-saline groundwater may vary among crucial growth stages of crops by decreasing crop growth and productivity. The present study aimed to assess the germination and seedling growth ability of wheat seeds grown in four different (0.38, 2.0, 4.0, and 8.0 dSm(-1)) groundwater salinities (GWS) and three (30, 55, and 80 cm) groundwater depths (GWD) condition. To achieve this aim, wheat crops were grown in drainable lysimeters under rain shelter conditions until the maturity stage, and then wheat seeds were harvested from various saline groundwater conditions. Afterward, wheat seeds were germinated to identify the performance of germination and seedling growth attributes. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to determine the optimal growing wheat seeds condition, which had high early seedling growth performance. The results showed that the seedling growth performance of wheat seeds increased with increasing GWDs, while decreased with increasing GWSs. Based on the RSM findings, we suggest that GWD and GWS should be at least 42 cm and at most 5.46 dSm(-1), respectively, for sustainable higher wheat yield and seed quality. Finally, this study could provide considerable information for selecting strong and healthy wheat seeds grown under shallow saline groundwater conditions.