Effect of salinity on photosynthesis and biochemical characteristics in mulberry genotypes

Mulberry genotypes were subjected to salinity (0-12 mS cm(-1)) in pot culture experiment. Chlorophyll and total carotenoid contents were reduced considerably by salinity. At low salinity, photosynthetic CO2 uptake increased over the control, but it decreased at higher salinity. Contents of soluble proteins, free amino acids, soluble sugars, sucrose, starch, and phenols increased at salinity of 1-2 mS cm(-1) and decreased at higher salinity (8-12 mS cm(-1)). Glycine betaine accumulated more than proline, the maximum accumulation of both was at salinity of 2-4 mS cm(-1). Among the genotypes studied, BC2-59 followed by S-30 showed better salinity tolerance than M-5.