KOREASCHOLAR

Salinity stress is a major threat to plant growth and development, affecting crop yield and quality. This study investigated the effects of different salinity levels on photosynthetic responses and bulb growth of Lilium LA hybrid “‘Serrada’.” Plants were irrigated with 1 L of 0, 200, and 400 mM NaCl solutions every two weeks for 14 weeks in a greenhouse. At the end of the cultivation period, the substrate pH decreased, and electrical conductivity increased with increasing salinity. Regardless of salinity levels, the days to flowering and number of flowers were similar among treatments. In contrast, the flower width, plant height, number of leaves, and leaf area decreased with increasing NaCl concentrations. Although there were no differences in the photosystem II (PSII) operating efficiency and maximum quantum yield of PSII, net CO2 assimilation rates (An) and stomatal conductance (gs) were significantly reduced at 200 and 400 mM NaCl solutions compared to the control. At 400 mM NaCl solution, bulb diameter and weight significantly decreased at the end of the experiment. These results suggest that bulb growth inhibition could be attributed to limiting photosynthetic rate and stem growth. This finding suggests that salinity mitigation is necessary to maintain plant growth and photosynthetic capacity in lily cultivation on salt-affected soils.

Introduction
Materials and Methods
    Plant material and growth conditions
    NaCl treatments
    The analysis of pH and electrical conductivity (EC)
    Plant growth parameters
    Photosynthetic capacity
    Statistical analysis
Results
Discussion
Acknowledgments
References

• Yuna Park(Department of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea)
• Won Jun Jo(Department of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea)
• Hoon Choi(Department of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea)
• Nam Hyun Im(Department of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea)
• Hyo Beom Lee(Department of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea, Research Institute for Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea) Corresponding author