IMPACT OF SALT STRESS (NACL) ON PIGMENTS, PHENOLS AND FLAVONOIDS IN C4 (Sorghum bicolor) AND C3 (Oryza sativa) CULTIVARS
Quantitative determination of total phenols, flavonoids and pigments in six day old, salt stressed sorghum (moderately tolerant) and rice (salt sensitive) crop seedling leaves and roots was carried out using spectrophotometric methods. C3 rice (Pokkali) and C4 sorghum (CSV-15) salt tolerant cultivars in both the crops were used in this study. They were treated at four salinity concentrations each (0, 50, 100, 150Mm). Catechol and rutin reagents were used as the standards for calibration for the phenols and flavonoids respectively. The root contains the maximum and the shoot contains the minimum amount of phenols in CSV-15 cultivar whereas the Pokkali var of rice depicted an opposite trend wherein, the accumulation of phenols in root is high compared to shoot. Flavonoid content in both sorghum and rice is more in shoot compared to root. Total chlorophylls decreased with increasing concentration of salinity in both the cultivars. chlb is predominant compared to chla and the carotenoid levels reduced with increase in salinity concentrations