EFFECT OF SALINITY ON THE GROWTH OF Telfariaoccidentalis Hook.f.

Fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentale Hook. F.) is a tropical plant belongingtotheCucurbitaceae family and holds significant economic value in Nigeria. Despite its highnutritional benefits and importance, there is a lack of information on how salinity impacts thisplant. This study aims to evaluate the effects of salinity on the growth of T. occidentalis. Theresearch was conducted over a four-week period. Seedlings of Telfairia occidentalis were placedin plastic bowls (30 cm in diameter) with drainage holes at the bottom to allowfor free waterdrainage. Two weeks after planting, the seedlings exhibited uniform growth and were movedtothe screen house of the Department of Plant Biology and Biotechnology. The plants wereirrigated with saline water at varying concentrations: 0 (control), 70, 140, and 280 mMNaCl, with three replicates for each treatment. The results indicated that high salinity negativelyaffectsT. occidentalis. The highest leaf length (19.67±1.53 cm) was observed in the 70 mMNaCl treatment, while the lowest leaf count (4.67±8.08) was recorded in week 4 for plants subjectedtothe highest salt concentration (280 mM NaCl). Additionally, the study found that salt stressadversely impacted the content of photosynthetic pigments, leading to a decrease inthechlorophyll content index and overall biomass yield. The findings suggest that T. occidentaliscan thrive in low to moderate salinity levels (70-140 mM NaCl), but its growth is significantlyhindered at high salinity levels