Effects of NaCl stress on damage and reflectance characteristics of cucumber cultivars with different salt-tolerance

Effects of NaCl stress on damage and reflectance characteristics of cucumber cultivars with different salt-tolerance was evaluated in this study. The results indicated that Xintai Mici (XTMC) was more tolerant to NaCl stress than Jinyou 1 (JY1). NaCl stress significantly increased cucumber leaf reflectance in the spectra of visible light, and the increase degree was higher in salt-sensitive cultivar Jinyou 1 than in salt-tolerant cultivar Xintai Mici, especially in the spectra of green light. Chlorophyll contents and xanthophyll cycle pool calculated from reflectance were closely related with cucumber tolerance to salt stress, and reflectance characteristics could be used as index to evaluate cucumber cultivar tolerance to salt stress.