Growth, Root Characteristics, and Leaf Nutrients Accumulation of Four Faba Bean (Vicia faba L.) Cultivars Differing in Their Broomrape Tolerance and the Soil Properties in Relation to Salinity

The effects of salinity on four faba bean (Vicia faba L) cultivars [Giza 429, Giza 843, Misr 1 (Orobanche-tolerant), and Giza 3 (Orobanche-susceptible)] and soil properties were investigated in a pot experiment with addition of 0, 50, and 100 mM sodium chloride (NaCl) for 9 weeks. Salinity significantly decreased calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), potassium (K+), bicarbonate (HCO3-), and sulfate (SO42-) while significantly increasing sodium (Na+), chloride (Cl-), pH, and electrical conductivity (EC; dS m-1). Root length density (cm cm-3), root mass density (mg cm-3), total dry weight, and salt-tolerance indexes were significantly reduced as a result of application of salinity. The results presented support evidence on the positive relationship between Orobance tolerance and salt tolerance in the three cultivars (Giza 429, Giza 843, and Misr 1). This adaptation was mainly due to a high degree of accumulation of inorganic nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ and lesser quantities of Na+ and Cl-, as well as greater K+/Na+ and Ca2+/Na+ ratios.