Full Length Research Paper

Assessment of the effect of salinity on the early growth stage of the common sunflower (Sanay cultivar) using spectral discrimination techniques

H. Turhan¹*, L. Genc², S. E. Smith³, Y. B. Bostanci² and O. S. Turkmen¹

¹Department of Field Crops, Agricultural Faculty, Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, 17020 Canakkale, Turkey.

²Department of Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural Faculty, Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, 17020 Canakkale, Turkey.

³School of Forest Resources and Conservation, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL USA.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: hturhan@comu.edu.tr.  Tel: +90 286 2180018 (1266).

Accepted 24 January, 2008

Salinity is one of the main limiting factors for agricultural production. This is especially true in arid and semi-arid regions of the world like Turkey. The objective of this study was to determine if the effect of salt concentration on the physiological and physiological features of the sunflower (Helianthus annuus L) could be measured using remote sensing techniques. Sunflower seedlings were grown under controlled conditions and irrigated with ½ Hoagland Solution containing three different concentrations of NaCl (salt) (0.0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5%). The results showed that plant growth decreased proportionally with increasing levels of NaCl. Chlorophyll concentration and a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were derived for the plants using a spectroradiometer. There was found to be a significant (r² = 0.76) correlation between chlorophyll and NDVI values. Therefore, factors that can be derived through remote sensing such as NDVI and chlorophyll can be used to indirectly demonstrate the impact salinity has on sunflower plants. Therefore, agriculturalists can assess growth rate changes caused by salinity using remote sensing techniques.

Key words: Salinity, plant growth, chlorophyll, NDVI, spectroradiometer.