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Comprehensive evaluation of alkaline tolerance in Brassica napus at the seedling stage

HU Zhi-Kang1,SHU Yu1,WANG Hui1,YANG Ying-Ying1,LIAO Jun-Yu2,LIU Jia1,CHENG Hong-Tao1,GUO Chen3,ZHANG Yuan-Yuan1,LIU Sheng-Yi1,HU Qiong1,MEI De-Sheng1,*,LI Chao1,*   

  1. 1 Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan 430062, Hubei, China; 2 The School of Life science, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434000, Hubei, China; 3 Institute of Plant Protection, Inner Mongolia Academy of Agricultural & Animal Husbandry Sciences, Hohhot 010031, Inner Mongolia, China
  • Received:2025-03-20 Revised:2025-07-09 Accepted:2025-07-09 Published:2025-07-22
  • Contact: 李超, E-mail:lichao01@caas.cn; 梅德圣, E-mail: meidesheng@caas.com E-mail:3014849124@qq.com
  • Supported by:
    This study was supported by the National Science and Technology Innovation 2030 of China (2022ZD04010), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32372065), the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS-ASTIP-2021- OCRI), and the China Agriculture Research System of MOF and MARA (CARS-12).

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Abstract:

Soil salinization is a major factor limiting rapeseed production. Identifying alkali-tolerant rapeseed germplasm is of great importance for breeding programs, enhancing oil production capacity, and promoting the sustainable use of saline-alkali land. Accurate and efficient screening and identification methods are fundamental to the discovery of alkali-tolerant germplasm resources and the genetic improvement of alkali tolerance in rapeseed. In this study, a mixed alkali solution (75 mmol L?1, NaHCO3∶Na2CO3 at a molar ratio of 2:1) was used to simulate alkaline stress. Four soil pH gradients (pH 8.75, 8.95, 9.18, and 9.42) were established by adjusting the ratio of nutrient soil to vermiculite. The widely cultivated variety ‘Zhongshuang 11’ was used as the test material to evaluate the effects of different pH levels on rapeseed growth and development. A soil pH of 8.95 was identified as optimal for evaluating alkali tolerance. A total of 224 natural rapeseed germplasms were subjected to alkali stress, and four phenotypic traits were measured under both control and alkaline conditions: aboveground fresh weight, aboveground dry weight, leaf number, and survival rate. Alkali tolerance at the seedling stage was comprehensively assessed using coefficient of variation analysis, correlation analysis, principal component analysis, membership function analysis, and cluster analysis. Results showed that under pH 8.95 treatment, the coefficient of variation (CV) for all phenotypic traits increased significantly compared to control conditions, with the CV of both aboveground fresh and dry weights increasing by more than 25%. A highly significant positive correlation was observed between the alkali tolerance indices (aboveground fresh/dry weight, leaf number, survival rate) and the comprehensive alkali tolerance score (D value). The first two principal components (PC1 and PC2), along with the comprehensive score D, followed a normal distribution. Based on membership function and cluster analyses, the 224 germplasms were classified into five alkali tolerance groups: highly alkali-sensitive (7.14%), alkali-sensitive (50.00%), intermediate (33.93%), alkali-tolerant (8.58%), and highly alkali-tolerant (0.45%). In total, 19 alkali-tolerant and 1 highly alkali-tolerant germplasms were identified. A regression equation was established based on the tolerance indices of the four phenotypic traits across all samples: Y = 0.009 + 0.986X? + 0.208X? + 0.151X?. Aboveground fresh weight, dry weight, and leaf number were identified as key indicators for evaluating alkali tolerance in rapeseed seedlings.

Key words: Brassica napus (rapeseed), seedling stage, alkali tolerance of soil culture, evaluation and identification, germplasm screening

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