Salt Tolerance and Suitability of Various Grasses for Saline Roadsides

Abstract

Forage yields of five grass species: Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn., A. smithii Rydb., Lolium perenne L., Poa pratensis L., and Puccinellia distans (L.) Parl., were studied in soil under greenhouse conditions with NaCl additions of 0; 5,000; 10,000; and 20,000 ppm. Forage yield of P. distans was reduced 23% by addition of 20,000 ppm NaCl, compared to a minimum reduction of 40% for the other grass species. Addition of 30,000 ppm NaCl to soil completely inhibited seedling survival of A. cristatum, A. smithii, Elymus triticoides Buckl., P. distans, Puccinellia lemmoni (Vasey) Scribn., and Sporobolus airoides (Torr.) Torr. Puccinellia airoides (Nutt.) Wats. and Coult. and P. distans were unusually toleran to foliar applications of NaCl in the field.Mineral analysis of leaf tissue by emission spectroscopy showed that Na concentrations increased as NaCl addition to the soil increased. However, there was no relationship between salt tolerance of the various grasses and amounts of Na in leaf tissue. Increased NaCl addition to the soil resulted in decreased leaf Ca and Mg, but no relationship existed between leaf K and NaCl addition.P. distans is of value for vegetating saline roadsides.

Use of saline and non-potable water in the turfgrass industry: Constraints and developments

“…Salinity tolerance often differs with the stage of plant development (e.g. seedling, juvenile, mature) (Hughes et al 1975). Climatically, both temperature and relative humidity can influence plant response to salinity (Maas 1986).…”

“…The use of different criteria to measure salinity tolerance further complicates comparisons. For example, shoot weight (Hughes et al 1975), shoot weight reduction relative to nonsalinized plants (Dudeck and Peacock 1985a), root weight or length (Kik 1989), shoot/leaf length (Horst and Beadle 1984), shoot visual injury (Greub et al 1985), plant survival (Ahti et al 1980), and seed germination (Marcar 1987) have all been used as measures of salinity tolerance in turfgrasses. Finally, units used in measuring salinity often vary from study to study, including: total dissolved solids on a weight basis (PPM or mg L -1 ), total dissolved solids in milliequivalents per liter (meq L -I ), or on a conductivity basis (mmhos cm -I , dS m -I ).…”

Genetic relationships among Eurasian Puccinellia distans genotypes

“…Although P. distans, does not have any economic value, it possesses unique properties for abiotic stress tolerance and hyperaccumulation of toxic boron (Hughes et al, 1975;Stiles et al, 2010). The accessions we studied were collected from Table 2 Forward and reverse primers used in SRAP analysis.…”

“…If enough genotypes are added, we may be able to see the pattern of dispersal and possibly find the point of origin of P. distans species. In establishing genetic relationships between P. distans accessions, this work may shed light on their physiological properties since certain genotypes of P. distans are known to be tolerant to drought, salt and boron abiotic stress (Hughes et al, 1975;Stiles et al, 2010). Thus, this work may be used as a starting point for selection of P. distans genotypes that should be tested for toxic mineral hyperaccumulation and abiotic stress tolerance.…”

“…Currently, P. distans and its subspecies are most frequently found in saline meadows, alkaline waterside sand and gravel, along roads, in oases, and near springs (Grubov, 2001). In previous studies, weeping alkali grass was shown to have good tolerance to salt, drought and other abiotic stress conditions (Hughes et al, 1975). In addition, it is a hyperaccumulator of boron and can grow in areas with boron levels that are toxic to other species (Stiles et al, 2010).…”