Germination and Early Establishment Requirements of Salicornia europaea aggr. as a Candidate Edible Crop for Saline Environments

Halophyte plants constitute vital resources for the advancement of sustainable agricultural practices in soils affected by salinity; however, the precise germination requirements for these species are still inadequately investigated. In this study, we examined how Salicornia europaea aggr., a succulent edible halophyte species, germinates under different genetic, environmental, and hormonal conditions such as gibberellic acid (GA3), testing the effects of genotype, light exposure, and salinity stress on seed and early seedling development. Two genotypes (GR-1-BBKK-24.6196 and GR-1-BBKK-25.6212) were examined across a range of GA3 (0, 250, 500 ppm), light intensity (40 and 80 μmol m−2 s−1), and salt concentrations (0 and 1% NaCl). At the seedling stage, four NaCl concentrations were used (0, 50, 100, 200 mM NaCl). Our data showed that S. europaea seeds do not exhibit dormancy—GA3 treatment had no effect on germination success. Dark conditions and salt exposure both hindered germination, whereas the highest light intensity (80 μmol m−2 s−1) improved it considerably. Salt stress progressively slowed seedling growth. Seedling development was enhanced by 200 mM NaCl demonstrating inconsistency of the effect of salinity between the seed and seedling stages. Overall, our work demonstrates that the germination in S. europaea varies substantially between genotypes, with sufficient light and low salt being particularly important for maximizing seed germination, while 200 mM NaCl seems to promote seedling growth.