INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE & BIOLOGY ISSN Print: 1560–8530; ISSN Online: 1814–9596 15–081/2016/18–2–238–244 DOI: 10.17957/IJAB/15.0032 http://www.fspublishers.org Full Length Article To cite this paper: Mohamed, A.K.S.H., M.F. Qayyum, A.N. Shahzad, M. Gul and A. Wakeel, 2016. Interactive effect of boron and salinity on growth, physiological and biochemical attributes of wheat (Triticum aestivum). Int. J. Agric. Biol., 18: 238‒244 Interactive Effect of Boron and Salinity on Growth, Physiological and Biochemical Attributes of Wheat (Triticum aestivum) Abdel Kareem S.H. Mohamed 1 , Muhammad Farooq Qayyum 2* , Ahmad Naeem Shahzad 3 , Mehreen Gul 4 and Abdul Wakeel 4 1 Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, Assiut 71524 Egypt 2 Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan, Pakistan 3 Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan, Pakistan 4 Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad Pakistan * For Correspondence: farooq.qayyum@bzu.edu.pk Abstract A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the interactive effect of salinity (125 mM) and varying concentrations of boron (B) (2, 4 and 6 mM) on the growth and biochemical attributes of wheat. Results showed that application of 4 and 6 mM B along with 125 mM NaCl significantly declined plant biomass and leaf length. The concentration of B in plant leaves was significantly lower in treatments where salinity and B were applied together as compared to individual applications of 2, 4 and 6 mM B. The membrane permeability and protein concentration were significantly increased by the combined application of NaCl and B, whereas the chlorophyll pigments were not influenced. The phenolic compounds and ascorbic acid concentrations were reduced with the individual applied 6 mM B and when combined with application of 125 mM NaCl + 6 mM B. The concentration of Milondialdehyde (MDA) gradually increased by increasing B application and maximum was at the highest level of B and NaCl stress. It is concluded that salinity worsens the deteriorating effect of boron toxicity on wheat growth. © 2016 Friends Science Publishers Keywords: Salt affected soils; Boron; Biochemical activities; Wheat Introduction Soil salinity influences availability of boron (B) to crop plants. In salt-affected soils, B toxicity is a continuing problem even after reclamation of salinity. Therefore, the response of crops to B and salinity remains focus of study in salt-affected soils. Generally salinity reduces the B uptake, however, contradictory results revealed that salinity can decrease or enhance the B toxicity in wheat (Wimmer et al., 2001). Under salinity, B worsens the activity of various membrane components and functions of certain aquaporin isoforms which influence the water uptake and its transport (Martínez-Ballesta et al., 2008). The salinity stress and B interactively affects the germination, shoot and root length, shoot root dry matter and increase the membrane permeability (Ismail, 2004; Molassiotis et al., 2006). At higher B concentration in growth medium, B enters plant tissues and alters the cell system and interferes the different physiological processes leading to drastic decrease in net yield of crops (Gupta, 1982; Nable et al., 1997). Growth and biochemical reactions in sunflower are negatively affected by foliar application of B under saline conditions (Jabeen and Ahmad, 2011). According to Wimmer et al. (2003), salinity and B toxicity have interactive and combined effects on uptake of B and water and B partitioning within the plant. Bingham et al. (1987) found no significant interaction between salinity and B toxicity in wheat grown at different B and salinity levels. Smith et al. (2013) investigated interactive effect of salinity, B and pH on the growth of Broccoli and found significant reduction in yield by both salinity and B application, however the effect was more pronounced at high pH. The reduction in shoot fresh mass and increase in total antioxidative capacity (TAC) and Luminol-converting peroxidase (LUPO) was more under combined stress of salinity and B than salinity alone (Masood et al., 2012). A plenty of literature is available about effects of NaCl and B either combined or alone on various plant species. However, less research has been done on interactive effect of NaCl and B on growth, and biochemical attributes in salt sensitive genotypes of wheat. It was hypothesized that