Salinity is a major stress in agricultural production systems

Salinity affects plants and crops in various ways. Germination can fail or may be delayed, crop establishment, dry matter production and leaf area development may be decreased, seed set can decrease  and sterility increase. The severity of these effects depends on several factors: (i) the intensity of the stress, (ii) the climatic conditions and (iii) the resistance level of the genotype.
Salt stress affects the entire plant at all development stages and rice sensitivity to salt varies between growth stages. Salt resistance is composed of avoidance and tolerance components. In non-halophytes avoidance is defined as the ability to restrict the entry of ions into the shoot resulting in lower sodium concentration in the leaves.
My research has focussed on interactions between environmental conditions and stress expression in plants. We investigated the effect of season and or VPD on salt uptake and distribution, the genotypic variability in stress responses as well as salinity effects on development, growth and yield in various crops. Mainly we focussed on rice, but there is also work on barley, wheat and jatropha.

Salinity effects on rice

PhD

 People

Folkard Asch
Physiologische Faktoren der Salzresistenz bei Reis (Oryza sativa L.). Dissertation, University of Hamburg, 1997.

MSc

"Modelling concepts for Sodium and Potassium Uptake in Rice Plants as a Function of Transpiration"
Master of Science Thesis 2004, Sankar Das [Bangladesh].

"Salinity Effects on Tiller and Leaf Appearance and on Development Rate of Individual Leaf Positions in Irrigated Rice"
Master of Science Thesis 2004, Keshav Dahal ([Nepal].

Paper

Publications

Tatar, Ö., Brueck, H., Gevrek, M.H., Asch, F., 2010
Physiological responses of two Turkish rice (Oryza sativa L.) varieties to salinity. Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry 34 (6), 451-459.

Asch, F., Wopereis, M. S. C., 2001 
Responses of field-grown irrigated rice cultivars to varying levels of floodwater salinity in a  semi-arid environment. Field Crops Research 70, 127-137.

Asch, F., Dingkuhn, M., Dörffling, K., 2000 
Salinity increases CO2 assimilation but reduces growth in field-grown, irrigated rice. Plant and Soil 218, 1-10.

Asch, F., Dingkuhn, M., Miezan, K., Dörffling, K., 2000 
Leaf K/Na ratio predicts salinity induced yield loss in irrigated rice. Euphytica 113, 109-118

Asch, F., Dingkuhn, M., Wittstock, C., Dörffling, K., 1999 
Sodium and Potassium Uptake of Rice Panicles as Affected by Salinity and Season in Relation to Yield and Yield Components. Plant and Soil. 207, 133-145.

Asch, F., Dörffling, K., Dingkuhn, M., 1995
Response of Rice Varieties to Soil Salinity and Air Humidity: a possible Involvement of Root-borne ABA. Plant and Soil 177, 11-19

Books

Asch, F., Dingkuhn, M., Wopereis, M.S.C., Dörffling, K., Miezan, K.M.,  1997
A Conceptual Model for Sodium Uptake and Distribution in Irrigated Rice. In: Applications of Systems Approaches at the Field Level, 201-217. Eds. M. J. Kropff et al., Dordrecht, Kluver Academic Publishers

Asch, F., Dingkuhn, M., Dörffling, K., 1997
Physiological Stresses of Irrigated Rice caused by Soil Salinity in the Sahel. In: Irrigated Rice in the Sahel: Prospects for Sustainable Development. Eds. K. M. Miezan, M. C. S. Wopereis, M. Dingkuhn, J. Deckers, T. F. Randolph. Pp 247-273. West Africa Rice Development Association, BP 2551, Bouaké 01, Cote d'Ivoire.

Poster

Wimmer, M., Asch, F., 2005
"Relationships between transpiration, ion uptake and distribution in salt-stressed irrigated rice"
XV. International Plant Nutrition Colloquium, 14.-19. Sept. 2005, Beijing.

Dahal, K. P, Das, U. S., Asch, F., 2003. 
"Salinity in irrigated rice. I. Effects of salinity on tiller and leaf number, leaf appearance rate, and leaf duration."
Deutscher Tropentag 2003, October 8-10, University of Göttingen.

Das, U.S., Dahal, K. P., Asch, F., 2003. 
"Salinity in irrigated rice. II. Concept models to simulate salinity effects on leaf appearance, duration and transpiration." 
Deutscher Tropentag 2003, October 8-10, University of Göttingen.

Asch, F., Dahal, K. P., Das, U. S., 2003. 
"Salinity in irrigated rice. III. Is the transpiration history of leaves indicative for the salt load of individual leaves?"
Deutscher Tropentag 2003, October 8-10, University of Göttingen.

Asch, F., Wopereis, M. S. C., 2000. 
"Yield responses of irrigated rice to salinity depend on development stage and stress level." 
3rd International Crop Science Congress, August 17th-22nd, 2000. Hamburg, Germany

Asch, F., Dingkuhn, M.,  Dörffling, K., 1997. 
"Effects of Transpiration on Sodium and Potassium Distribution in Salt-Stressed Irrigated Rice."
Annual Meeting Society of Experimental Biology

 Salinity effects on barley and wheat

PhD

 People

MSc

"Untersuchungen zur genotypischen Salzresistenz von Gerste in semi-ariden Gebieten"
Diplomarbeit 2006, Said Dadshani [Afghanistan].

BSc

"Effects of VPD on threshold and slope of salt tolerance in barley"
Bachelor of Science Thesis, Markus Kaiser, [Germany]

Paper

Publications

Badridze, G., Weidner, A., Asch, F., Börner, A., 2009
Variation in salt tolerance within a Georgian wheat germplasm collection. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 56 (8), 1125-1130.

Poster

Weidner, A., Badridze, G., Asch, F., Börner, A. 2009.
"Screening for Variability in Salt tolerance within a Georgian Wheat Germplasm Collection"
Tropentag 2009, October 6-8, University of Hamburg, Hamburg.
Proceedings

Weidner, A., Asch, F., Buck-Sorlin, GH., Börner, A. 2007. 
"QTLs for salt resistance vary with development stage in field-grown Barley".  Tropentag 2007, October 9-11, University of Kassel-Witzenhausen, Witzenhausen.

Weidner, A., Asch F., Buck-Sorlin, G., Dadshani, S., Börner, A., 2006
"Improving Salt Tolerance: A worldwide challenge for plant nutrition and breeding"
Annual Meeting of the German Society for Plant Nutrition: "Plant Nutrition meets Plant Breeding", 26.-28.10.2006, Hohenheim