THE INFLUENCE OF SULFATE SALINIZATION THE GROWTH ACTIVITY AND WATER CONTENT IN WINTER TRITICALE VARIETY "TRIBUNE"
The effect of short-term salt stress caused by the presence of 120 mM Na<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> in the nutrient medium was studied in the paper. The object of the study was 7-day old triticale seedlings (Triticosecale) of the winter variety “Tribune”, which were placed on medium containing sodium sulfate. After 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h of exposure, the length of shoots and roots, osmotic potential, water content and proline content were determined. It was shown that sulfate salinization adversely affects the morphological parameters of plants, causing inhibition of growth processes in both shoots and roots. It was established that the osmotic potential in the shoots increased, and by the beginning of the fourth day of the experiment, an almost twofold increase in this parameter was noted. At the same time, in the roots, the osmotic potential remained approximately at the same level (-1.3 MPa). The moisture content in the shoots for the first day of the experiment decreased by 20%, while in the roots only by 6%. With further exposure, the moisture content increased, approaching the initial values. During the study, a change in the content of proline was noted both in the shoots, which maximally increased almost 4 times the initial value, and in the roots of triticale, changes in which reached 6 times. Based on the obtained results, it was concluded that during the adaptation of seedlings to sulphate salinization (1) osmotic pressure and water content changed to a lesser extent in the roots than in the shoots, (2) the accumulation of proline in the shoots was a significant (but insufficient) factor to maintain osmotic pressure, which almost doubled, (3) for the root system, proline accumulation was not significant, which may indicate other (possibly stronger) mechanisms for maintaining osmotic pressure in triticale roots under conditions of sulphate salinization.