Reproductive growth characteristics of Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L. in High-Salinity stress conditions

This study presents the reproductive growth characteristics of a halophyte Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L. when grown in high-salinity soil stress conditions. The experiments were arranged and carried out continuously from 2020 to 2023, the first two years at Kyushu University in Japan and the last year at Duy Tan University in Vietnam. During the time in Japan, the effects of salinity stress on the reproductive growth stages and the morphological characteristics of M. crystallinum cultured in the soil treated with saline solutions containing 0 mM, 100 mM, and 400 mM NaCl were determined. Then, the seeds harvested from these plants were reproduced to develop them as the high salt-tolerance plants in Vietnam. The results show that 400 mM NaCl-treated plants maintained their growth and developed well during the vegetative growth stage. These plants had shorter flower blooming times than the 100 mM NaCl-treated and control ones (0 mM NaCl). The seeds harvested from NaCl-treated and control plants in Japan had regenerated in vitro plants well in the Vietnamese culture rooms. Interestingly, the 400 mM NaCl-treated M. crystallinum grew healthily in the soil, and their leaves, flowers, and seedpods tended to accumulate more betacyanin and epidermal bladder cells (EBCs) than other plants. These characteristics may be desirable for rehabilitating saline soil and developing high-salinity tolerance M. crystallinum for cultivation and growth in Vietnam.