Two grape (Vitis vinifera L.) cultivars: `Rish` Baba and `Sahebi` were subjected to different concentrations of NaCl and some growth characteristics including shoot length, specific leaf area, leaf number and root dry weight to stem dry weight ratio as well as concentration of some elements including Na+, Cl-, K+ and Ca2+ in roots and leaves were determined. The project was conducted in a factorial experiment based on a complete randomized block design with four replications. Salinity levels were 0 (control), 25, 50, 75, 100, 125 and 150 mM NaCl. Rooted cuttings were cultivated in pots containing perlite and fed with Hoagland nutrient solution. Plants treated with salinity were kept for 20 days. Results showed that by increasing salinity level, shoot length, specific leaf area and leaf number were decreased significantly. Because growth reduction in the shoots was higher than the roots, by increasing salinity level the ratio of root dry weight to stem dry weight was increased. Salt stress had significant effect on Na+, Cl-, K+ and Ca2+ concentrations in both roots and leaves. Increasing salinity level caused an increase in Na+ and Cl- concentrations in tissues. This increase was observed more in roots than the leaves and was higher in `Rish Baba` showing low transportation of the above ions to the upper sections of the plants in this cultivar. Increasing salinity levels decreased K+ and Ca2+ concentrations in tissues. This reduction was more in the roots than the leaves. `Rish Baba` cultivar transported more Ca2+ to the upper plant,s sections. Based on the results of this experiment, `Rish Baba` was more tolerant to salinity stress than `sahebi`.
