Temperature and saline stress on seedlings of Swietenia macrophylla: a comparative study

Physical responses of plants to change in climatic factors like temperature, precipitation and abiotic factors like salinity intrusion may lead positive or negative effects. Some factor may promulgate growth while other may stunts their vigour. Present study seeks growth of a plantation species at its early stage of life towards elevated temperature and saline water stresses. Growth records of Swietenia macrophylla seedlings were enumerated by measuring height, collar diameter and leaf number development of the replicates growing at an environment-controlled plant growth chamber. One experimented with merely elevated temperature while other tries to find results of combined effect of elevated temperature (30, 32 and 34 degrees C) and saline (0.5, 1.5 and 2.5 g L(-1) NaCl) to said species seedlings. Seedling replicates showed diverse response to elevated temperature and saline irrigation at height, collar diameter and leaf number development. Results depict that elevated temperature alone might be positive for S. macrophylla seedlings, rather most favourable for its growth in height, however, collar diameter and leaf number may remain unaffected. Saline treatment along with higher temperature stresses may lead seedlings toward stunted or very low growth. As saline intensity increases, species growth tends to decrease proportionally. Elevated temperature aided with higher salinity may direct further under development of S. macrophylla seedlings which is distressing to plantation establishment of this species in sites which are vulnerable to salinity intrusion due to climate change. However, S. macrophylla may be a promising plantation species in drier part of the globe in near future.