Effect of NaCl on Nitrogen Content of Barley Seedlings

This study was conducted to determine the effects of NaCl stress on nitrogen, ${NH_4}^+$, and ${NO_3}^-$ content of 4 barley cultivar seedlings that were cultured for 10 and 30 days with different NaCl levels (0, 50, 100, and 150 mM) contain-ing 1/4 Hoagland solutions. The sodium ion content in the shoot of barley seedlings sharply increased with an increase of NaCl concentration. After 30 days of NaCl treatment, the sodium content of the shoot at 150 mM NaCl was 27 times higher than in non-saline conditions. The sodium content in the root linearly increased with increasing NaCl concentration. Nitrogen content in the shoot linearly increased with increasing NaCl concentration, but nitrogen content in the root declined above the point where the $Na^+$ content was 3.0 mM/g $Na^+$ in the barley seedling. ${NO_3}^-$ content also decreased with increasing NaCl concentration. ${NH_4}^+$ content in the shoot decreased with NaCl condition, but its content in the root increased with NaCl condition. A positive correlation between ${NO_3}^-$ and ${NH_4}^+$ content was found in the shoot, but their relationship was negative in the root.