Emergence, height, and yield of tall, NewHy, and green wheatgrass forage crops grown in saline root zones

2005 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 863-875 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Steppuhn ◽  
K. Asay

The salinity tolerance of a crop relates to its inherent ability to yield economic product while subjected to root-zone salinity. Tall wheatgrass [Thinopyrum ponticum (Podp.) Liu & Wang, previously Agropyron elongatum (Horst.) Beauv.] ranks as one of the most salt-tolerant forage crops, but producers feeding or grazing livestock with it often report of its poor palatability. NewHy [Elytrigia repens (L.) Nevski × Pseudoroegneria spicata (Pursh.) A. Love] and green wheatgrasses (Elymus hoffmannii Jensen and Asay) are new forages with potentially better palatability. In order to determine the responses of these forages to saline rooting media, two tests were conducted in Canada’s Salinity Tolerance Testing Facility. The plants were grown in sand tanks flushed four times daily with hydroponic solutions consisting of nutrients and salts dominated either by chloride ions measuring from 1.5 to 48 dS m-1 or by sulphate ions from 1.5 to 50 dS m-1. In the chloride test, maximum emergence-survival, emergence rate, and emergence at the time of maximum rate for Orbit tall wheatgrass differed significantly from green wheatgrass (Breeding Strain A6) and NewHy. The maximum percent emergence and survival within the range of test salinity levels averaged 93, 88, 86% for tall, NewHy, and Strain A6 wheat grasses, respectively. In the sulphate test, maximum percent emergence-survival averaged 94, 91, and 87% for Orbit tall wheatgrass and green wheatgrass breeding strains A6 and S2 across the eight salinity levels of the test. Relative crop heights at harvest did not differ significantly among the test forages in either test. In the chloride test, shoot biomass yields relative to the salt-free production analysed by the modified-discount equation resulted in salinity-tolerance-indices of 11.2, 5.7, and 12.9 for tall, NewHy, and green wheatgrasses, respectively. In the sulphate test, salinity-tolerance indices for the tall wheatgrass, A6 and S2 green wheatgrass strains registered 11.7, 12.8, and 12.5, respectively. This and the covariance yield analyses based on paired t-tests lead to the inference that the salinity tolerance for both strains of green wheatgrass equalled that of the Orbit tall wheatgrass and exceeded that of the NewHy. Producers will soon have the option of growing AC Saltlander, a variety of green wheatgrass (Strain S2), which has just been released for commercialization and seed increase. Key words: Salt tolerance, salt resistance, salinity, tall wheatgrass, green wheatgrass, NewHy, crop response to salinity

2005 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 815-827 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Steppuhn ◽  
J. P. Raney

The salinity tolerance of a crop relates to its inherent ability to yield economic product as root-zone salinity increases. Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) ranks as one of the more salt-tolerant of the annual cereal grain crops, but producers seek a salt-resistant, non-cereal grain crop as an agronomic alternative for saline fields. Could canola (Brassica napus L.) serve as this alternative? Two greenhouse tests were conducted to determine the inherent crop responses of three canola cultivars (Quantum, Hyola 401, InVigor 2573) to saline rooting media compared with that of Harrington barley. These crops were grown in sand tanks flushed four times daily with solutions dominated either by chlorides with salt concentrations measuring from 1.4 to 32 dS m-1 or by sulphates from 1.6 to 27 dS m-1 . In the Cl-test, the rate of emergence and the emergence time of the Quantum plants lagged those for Hyola and Harrington. In the SO4-test, these measures for the InVigor plants equalled those for the Hyola, but lagged those for Harrington. Relative crop height at harvest did not differ among the test crops in either test. Crop grain yields relative to the salt-free production analysed by the modified-discount equation resulted in Cl-solution tolerance indices of 11.0, 14.3, and 12.6 for Harrington, Hyola, and Quantum and SO4-solution indices of 11.4, 15.6, and 16.7 for Harrington, Hyola, and InVigor, respectively. Covariance analyses based on paired t-tests confirmed the conclusion that the salinity tolerance of the canola cultivars equalled that of Harrington barley. Key words: Salt tolerance, salt resistance, salinity, canola, barley, abiotic crop-stress


2010 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Steppuhn ◽  
K C Falk ◽  
R. Zhou

Crops of CS15 camelina and InVigor 9590 canola, grown under field conditions in Canada’s Salinity Tolerance Testing Facility, were evaluated for plant emergence, height, shoot biomass, grain yield, oil content and composition. The crops were seeded directly into sand tanks flushed four times daily with hydroponics consisting of nutrients and salts ranging in salinity from negligible to severe. Sulphate-based solutions averaging 1.4 (nutrients only), 3.0, 6.0, 10.0, 14.7, 19.9, and 27.0 dS m-1 in electrical conductivity (ECsol) resulted in respective cumulative emergence of 99.0 to 42.1% for the camelina and 99.3 to 79.6% for the canola and showed statistical differences only at the two highest salinity treatments. Plant height differences between the camelina and the canola increased as salinity increased: from 16% at 1.4 dS m-1 to 60% at 19.9 dS m-1. Grain yields under salinity relative to the salt-free yield decreased more for the camelina than for the canola at all ECsol-levels. The salinity tolerance index based on the ECsol -value at 50% of the maximum grain yield indicated that the camelina registered less than half (7.4) of that for the canola (18.0). The percentage oil content of the canola oilseed averaged 40% until salinity exceeded 20 dS m-1, while that of the camelina averaged 35% until 10 dS m-1, before declining. Key words: Camelina sativa, false flax, salinity tolerance, salt resistance, Brassica napus, canola


1973 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. McELGUNN ◽  
T. LAWRENCE

Altai wild ryegrass (Elymus angustus Trin.) was compared with tall wheatgrass (Agropyron elongatum (Host.) Beauv.), slender wheatgrass (A. trachycaulum (Link) Malte), Russian wild ryegrass (E. junceus Fisch.), bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.), and reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) for salinity tolerance under growth room conditions. Percent emergence, herbage, and root yield were assessed in soils of varying salinity (conductivities of 4–40 mmhos/cm). Emergence of Altai wild ryegrass compared favorably with Russian wild ryegrass and bromegrass but they were inferior to tall wheatgrass at high levels of salinity. Root yield of Altai wild ryegrass was greater than that of the other grasses at all levels of salinity. At low levels of salinity (conductivities of 6–14 mmhos/cm) root yield of Altai wild ryegrass exceeded that on the low saline check soil. Using herbage yield as the criterion, tall wheatgrass and Altai wild ryegrass tolerated salinity better than the other grasses. The germination–emergence phase of establishment was the most sensitive to salinity.


1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Pearen ◽  
M. D. Pahl ◽  
M. S. Wolynetz ◽  
R. Hermesh

Regrowth of 15 slender wheatgrass (SWG, Elymus trachycalus sp. Trachycalus (= Agropyron trachycaulum Link Malte) lines was evaluated after 3 (harvest-one) and 11 wk (harvest-two) after clipping at four salinity levels. Lines were previously categorized into salt-tolerant (TOL) and non salt-tolerant (NT) accessions based on percent emergence at 15 mS cm−1 relative to a salt-tolerant control, tall wheatgrass (TWG, Agropyron elongatum (Host) Beauv. [= Thinopyron ponticum (Podpera) Lu & Wong]. Regrowth of five TOL, five NT, five untested (UT) SWG lines and TWG were compared in a greenhouse with nutrient solutions salinized to ECe values of 2, 7, 15, and 23 mS cm−1. Regrowth of all SWG lines decreased from 68 to 98% as salinity increased. Orbit tall wheatgrass shoots were about threefold larger than SWG shoots at 15 and 23 mS cm−1. Phenological development of NT lines was slower (P ≤ 0.05) than that of TOL and UT lines at all ECe levels. However, shoot growth of NT lines exceeded (P ≤ 0.05) that of TOL lines at 23 mS cm−1. Regrowth after 3 and 11 wk were correlated within ECe levels, (r = 0.22 to r = 0.34, P ≤ 0.01). Lack of a positive relationship between lines selected for emergence in saline media and their subsequent growth under saline conditions indicates that improvements in adult plant growth under saline conditions will require additional selection for appropriate traits in SWG. Key words: Slender wheatgrass, Elymus trachycalus sp. trachycalus (= Agropyron trachycaulum Link Malte), tall wheatgrass, Agropyron elongatum (Host) Beauv. (= Thinopyron ponticum (Podpera) Lu & Wong), salt tolerance, genetic screening, emergence


2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (No. 2) ◽  
pp. 61-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorsaf Allel ◽  
Anis BenAmar ◽  
Mounawer Badri ◽  
Chedly Abdelly

Soil salinity is one of the main factors limiting cereal productivity in worldwide agriculture. Exploitation of natural variation in local barley germplasm is an effective approach to overcome yield losses. Three gene pools of North African Hordeum vulgare L. grown in Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt were evaluated at the reproductive stage under control and saline conditions. Assessment of stress tolerance was monitored using morphological, yield-related traits and phenological parameters of reproductive organs showing significant genetic variation. High heritability and positive relationships were found suggesting that some traits associated with salt tolerance could be used as selection criteria. The phenotypic correlations revealed that vegetative traits including shoot biomass, tiller number and leaf number along with yield-related traits such as spike number, one spike dry weight, grain number/plant and grain number/spike were highly positively correlated with grain yield under saline conditions. Hence, these traits can be used as reliable selection criteria to improve barley grain yield. Keeping a higher shoot biomass and longer heading and maturity periods as well as privileged filling ability might contribute to higher grain production in barley and thus could be potential target traits in barley crop breeding toward improvement of salinity tolerance. Multiple selection indices revealed that salt tolerance trait index provided a better discrimination of barley landraces allowing selection of highly salt-tolerant and highly productive genotypes under severe salinity level. Effective evaluation of salt tolerance requires an integration of selection indices to successfully identify and characterize salt tolerant lines required for valuable exploitation in the management of salt-affected areas.  


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 712
Author(s):  
Md Sarowar Alam ◽  
Mark Tester ◽  
Gabriele Fiene ◽  
Magdi Ali Ahmed Mousa

Salinity is one of the most significant environmental stresses for sustainable crop production in major arable lands of the globe. Thus, we conducted experiments with 27 tomato genotypes to screen for salinity tolerance at seedling stage, which were treated with non-salinized (S1) control (18.2 mM NaCl) and salinized (S2) (200 mM NaCl) irrigation water. In all genotypes, the elevated salinity treatment contributed to a major depression in morphological and physiological characteristics; however, a smaller decrease was found in certain tolerant genotypes. Principal component analyses (PCA) and clustering with percentage reduction in growth parameters and different salt tolerance indices classified the tomato accessions into five key clusters. In particular, the tolerant genotypes were assembled into one cluster. The growth and tolerance indices PCA also showed the order of salt-tolerance of the studied genotypes, where Saniora was the most tolerant genotype and P.Guyu was the most susceptible genotype. To investigate the possible biochemical basis for salt stress tolerance, we further characterized six tomato genotypes with varying levels of salinity tolerance. A higher increase in proline content, and antioxidants activities were observed for the salt-tolerant genotypes in comparison to the susceptible genotypes. Salt-tolerant genotypes identified in this work herald a promising source in the tomato improvement program or for grafting as scions with improved salinity tolerance in tomato.


Horticulturae ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 203
Author(s):  
Denisa Avdouli ◽  
Johannes F. J. Max ◽  
Nikolaos Katsoulas ◽  
Efi Levizou

In a cascade hydroponic system, the used nutrient solution drained from a primary crop is directed to a secondary crop, enhancing resource-use efficiency while minimizing waste. Nevertheless, the inevitably increased EC of the drainage solution requires salinity-tolerant crops. The present study explored the salinity-tolerance thresholds of basil to evaluate its potential use as a secondary crop in a cascade system. Two distinct but complemented approaches were used; the first experiment examined basil response to increased levels of salinity (5, 10 and 15 dS m−1, compared with 2 dS m−1 of control) to identify the limits, and the second experiment employed a cascade system with cucumber as a primary crop to monitor basil responses to the drainage solution of 3.2 dS m−1. Growth, ascorbate content, nutrient concentration, and total amino acid concentration and profile were determined in both experiments. Various aspects of basil growth and biochemical performance collectively indicated the 5 dS m−1 salinity level as the upper limit/threshold of tolerance to stress. Higher salinity levels considerably suppressed fresh weight production, though the total concentration of amino acids showed a sevenfold increase under 15 dS m−1 and 4.5-fold under 5 and 10 dS m−1 compared to the control. The performance of basil in the cascade system was subject to a compromise between a reduction of fresh produce and an increase of total amino acids and ascorbate content. This outcome indicated that basil performed well under the conditions and the system employed in the present study, and might be a good candidate for use as a secondary crop in cascade-hydroponics systems.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata V. Menezes ◽  
André D. Azevedo Neto ◽  
Hans R. Gheyi ◽  
Alide M. W. Cova ◽  
Hewsley H. B. Silva

Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is a medicinal species of Lamiaceae family, popularly known for its multiple benefits and high levels of volatile compounds. The species is considered to be one of the most essential oil producing plants. Also cultivated in Brazil as a condiment plant in home gardens. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of salinity on the growth of basil in nutrient solution of Furlani and to identify variables related to the salinity tolerance in this species. The first assay was performed with variation of five saline levels (0 - control, 20, 40, 60 and 80 mM NaCl). In the second assay six genotypes were evaluated in two salinity levels 0 and 80 mM NaCl. The height, stem diameter, number of leaves, dry mass and inorganic solutes in different organs, photosynthetic pigments, absolute membrane integrity and relative water content were evaluated. All biometric variables in basil were significantly reduced by salinity. Dry matter yield and percentage of membrane integrity were the variables that best discriminated the characteristics of salinity tolerance among the studied basil genotypes. Basil genotypes showed a differentiated tolerance among the genotypes, the ‘Toscano folha de alface’ being considered as the most tolerant and ‘Gennaro de menta’ as the most sensitive, among the species studied.


Author(s):  
S. Acikbas ◽  
M.A. Ozyazici ◽  
H. Bektas

Background: Plants face different abiotic stresses such as salinity that affect their normal development, growth and survival. Forage pea is an important legume crop for herbage production in ruminants. Its agronomy requires high levels of irrigation and fertilization. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of salinity on seedling root system development in forage pea under semi-hydroponics conditions.Methods: Different treatment of NaCl doses (0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 mM) on root architecture was investigated in two different forage pea cultivars (Livioletta and Ulubatlý) with contrasting root structures under controlled conditions. The experimental design was completely randomized design with three replications and nine plants per replication.Result: Salinity affects root and shoot development differently on these cultivars. Despite the salinity, Livioletta produced more shoot (0.71 g) and root biomass (0.30 g) compared to Ulubatlý (0.52 g and 0.25 g for Root and Shoot biomass, respectively) at 150 mM and all other salinity levels. Livioletta developed a better root system and tolerated salt to a higher dose than Ulubatlý. Understanding root system responses of forage pea cultivars may allow breeding and selecting salinity tolerant cultivars with better rooting potential.


Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 507
Author(s):  
Jorge F. S. Ferreira ◽  
Jaime Barros da Silva Filho ◽  
Xuan Liu ◽  
Devinder Sandhu

Two spinach (Spinacea oleracea L.) cultivars were evaluated for their response to deficient (0.25 mmolc L−1 or 0.25 K) and sufficient (5.0 mmolc L−1 or 5.0 K) potassium (K) levels combined with salinities of 5, 30, 60, 90, and 120 mmolc L−1 NaCl. Plants substituted K for Na proportionally with salinity within each K dose. Plants favored K+ over Na+, regardless of salinity, accumulating significantly less Na at 5.0 K than at 0.25 K. Salinity had no effect on N, P, and K shoot accumulation, suggesting that spinach plants can maintain NPK homeostasis even at low soil K. Ca and Mg decreased with salinity, but plants showed no deficiency. There was no Na+ to K+ or Cl− to NO3− competition, and shoot biomass decrease was attributed to excessive NaCl accumulation. Overall, ‘Raccoon’ and ‘Gazelle’ biomasses were similar regardless of K dose but ‘Raccoon’ outproduced ‘Gazelle’ at 5.0 K at the two highest salinity levels, indicating that ‘Raccoon’ may outperform ‘Gazelle’ at higher NaCl concentrations. At low K, Na may be required by ‘Raccoon’, but not ‘Gazelle’. This study suggested that spinach can be cultivated with recycled waters of moderate salinity, and less potassium than recommended, leading to savings on crop input and decreasing crop environmental footprint.


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