ThekeyforriceplantsurvivalunderNaClsaltstressismaintainingahighK+/Na+ratioinitscells.Selectionforsalttolerancericegenotypesbasedonphenotypicperformancealonewilldelayinprogressinbreeding.Useofmolecularmarkersintandemwithphysiologicalstudieswillhelpinbetteridentificationofsalttolerantriceaccessions.EightriceaccessionsalongwiththecheckDongjinwerescreenedusing1/2Yoshidasolutionwith50mmol/LNaClattheseedlingstage.TheaccessionsIT001158,IT246674,IT260533andIT291341wereclassifiedassalttolerantbasedontheirK+/Na+ratios.SeventeenSSRmarkersreportedtobeassociatedwithK+/Na+ratiowereusedtoscreentheaccessions.FiveSSRmarkers(RM8053,RM345,RM318,RM253andRM7075)coulddifferentiateaccessionsclassifiedbasedontheirK+/Na+ratios.BandingpatternoftheaccessionswasscoredcomparedtothebandingpatternofDongjin.ThestudydifferentiatedaccessionsbasedontheirassociationofK+/Na+ratiowithmolecularmarkerswhichareveryreliable.Thesemarkerscanplayasignificantroleinscreeninglargesetofricegermplasmsforsalttoleranceandalsohelpinidentificationofhigh-yieldingvarietieswithbettersalttolerance.Thesalttolerantaccessionscanbetakenforwardintodevelopingbettervarietiesbyconventionalbreedingandexploringgenesforsalttolerance.
