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Six selected cultivars of rice namely BPT-5204, MTU-7029, Narendra Usar Dhan-3, Rajendra
Bhagwati, CSR-30 and Pusa Basmati-1 were screened for salinity tolerance on the basis of in vitro
seed germination, callus formation and callus growth on MS basal medium supplemented with 2.0
mg l-1 2,4-D + 1.0 mg l-1 KIN under different salt stress (0-2.5%) created by a salt mixture of NaCl,
CaCl2, Na2SO4 in 7:2:1 ratio. The frequency of seed germination and callus formation gradually
decreased with increasing concentrations of salt in the medium. The in vitro callus growth also
decreased with increasing concentrations of salt. The salt tolerance index (STI) of the rice cultivars
was calculated on the basis of the in vitro observations. Cultivars CSR-30 and Narendra Usar
Dhan-3 were found to be salt tolerant, cvs. MTU-7029 and BPT-5204 moderately salt tolerant and
cvs. Rajendra Bhawati and Pusa Basmati-1 as salt susceptible respectively.
Keywords: Rice, Seed culture, Callogenesis, Somaclonal variation, Salinity tolerance.