Evaluation of some nutritional and biochemical indicators in selecting salt-resistant tomato cultivars

In the present work, in order to identify the most reliable nutritional and biochemical indicators for improving salt tolerance in one of the most important horticultural crops worldwide tomato, 10 commercial cultivars were subjected to salinity stress. Here, we show that the most salt-resistant tomato cultivars (cv. Brillante and cv. Jaguar) are characterized by reduced uptake and foliar accumulation of Na+ and Cl-, increased K+ uptake, and greater synthesis of sucrose, carotenoids, and thiol groups, with the consequent reduction in lipid peroxidation and therefore, oxidative damage; all this translates as greater biomass production in the two cultivars with respect to the other tomato cultivars examined. In addition, our results reveal the validity and effectiveness of certain nutritional and biochemical indicators of salt stress, such as the K+:Na+ ratio and sucrose, indicating the importance of lipid peroxidation as the determinant physiological process in the selection of salinity-tolerant tomato plants. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.