NaCl effects growth, ions and water status of Tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum ) seedlings

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Tomato seedlings (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill, cv Chibli F1) were subjected to different NaCl treatments (0, 25, 50 and 100 mM) during 10 days. Under low salinity (25 mM NaCl), tomato preserved a normal growth activity, associated with maintain of the tissues water status and a high selectivity for K+ over Na+. Under high salinity (50 and 100 mM), endogenous Na+ and CI− accumulations were contradicted by a decrease of K+ and NO3 − contents. Our results support the existence of a competition between K+/Na+ and NO3 −CI− at the level of uptake and storage process. The high salt stress (50 and 100 mM) emphasized a typical glycophytic behavior; displaying i) a severe decline in plant growth activity, ii) the low Na+ amounts compared to CI− in the leaves, make an evidence for Na+ extrusion from the leaves to the stems-petioles and roots, and iii) an inaptitude to use Na+ instead of K+ to carry out osmotic adjustments at high salinity (100 mM NaCl).