In order to analyse the effect of salt (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 mM) concentration on chlorophylls, total carotenoids and proline contents, an experiment was carried out in greenhouse conditions with cultivars BRS Bojurú, IAS 12-9 Formosa and BRS Agrisul. Total contents were determined 30 days after soil salinization. The salinity strongly reduced chlorophylls and total carotenoids contents on Agrisul genotype, but pigments were not quite affected on Bojuru and Formosa. Proline contents were ligher in Agrisul than in the Bujuru and Formosa genotypes, and the proline accumulation was accentuated with increase in salt concentration. A threshhold of salt concentration that starts the process of proline accumulation in leaves was verified, being 50 mM to cultivar BRS Agrisul (sensitive) and 75 mM to cultivars BRS Bojuru and IAS 12-9 Formosa (tolerants).
Oryza sativa; photosynthetic pigments; proline; salinity
