Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T05:37:59.890Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Salinity Tolerance of Foxtail Barley (Hordeum jubatum) and Desirable Pasture Grasses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Karl R. Israelsen ,
Corey V. Ransom  and
Blair L. Waldron
Karl R. Israelsen
Affiliation:
Winfield Solutions, Twin Falls, ID 83301
Corey V. Ransom*
Affiliation:
Department of Plants, Soils, and Climate, Utah State University, 4820 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322-4820
Blair L. Waldron
Affiliation:
Forage and Range Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Logan, UT 84322-6300
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Greenhouse studies were conducted to determine the relative salinity tolerance of foxtail barley and seven desirable pasture grasses. Grass species were reed canarygrass, timothy, altai wildrye, tall fescue, tall wheatgrass, orchardgrass, creeping meadow foxtail, and foxtail barley. Grasses were exposed to increasing electrical conductivity levels of NaCl and CaCl2 salt solution over time. Grass species were compared using a cumulative value of salt exposure (ECdays), which was calculated to account for the electrical conductivity (EC) and the time a plant was exposed at that level of conductivity. Salinity tolerance varied among grass species. Increasing EC significantly reduced plant biomass of all species. All grass species experienced a 50% biomass reduction (GR50) between 271 and 512 ECdays in 2008 and between 297 and 575 ECdays in 2009. Foxtail barley was among the most salt tolerant (GR50 = 512 and 525 ECdays), requiring the highest salt exposure in 2008 and the second-highest exposure in 2009 to reduce biomass 50%. Grass mortality increased with increasing EC levels. Reed canarygrass and timothy were most susceptible to increasing salinity, with 50% mortality (LD50) of both grass species occurring between 983 and 1,186 ECdays. Moderate salinity tolerance was exhibited by orchardgrass, which required 1,977 and 1,844 ECdays; creeping foxtail, which required 1,998 and 2,431 ECdays; and tall fescue, which required 2,501 and > 2,840 ECdays to LD50 in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Foxtail barley, altai wildrye, and tall wheatgrass were most tolerant of salinity and persisted with little mortality occurring at 3,033 and 2,840 ECdays in 2008 and 2009, respectively. All grass species with higher growth rates than foxtail barley and altai wildrye were more susceptible to salinity, with the exception of tall wheatgrass. Growth rates of foxtail barley and altai wildrye were less than they were for other grasses, suggesting that slower growth rates may aid in salinity tolerance.

Keywords

Altai wildrye, Leymus angustus AP/PR (Trin.) Pilg. ‘Mustang’creeping meadow foxtail, Alopecurus arundinaceus Poir. ‘Garrison’foxtail barley, Hordeum jubatum L. HORJUorchardgrass, Dactylis glomerata L. ‘Potomac’reed canarygrass, Phalaris arundinacea L. ‘Palaton’tall fescue, Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) S.J. Darbyshire ‘Fawn’tall wheatgrass, Thinopyrum ponticum (Podp.) Z.-W. Liu &R.-C. Wang ‘Alkar’timothy, Phleum pratense L. ‘Climax’Halophyteelectrical conductivitygrass mortalitygrowth rates
Type
Weed Biology and Ecology
Information
Weed Science , Volume 59 , Issue 4 , December 2011 , pp. 500 - 505
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature Cited

Badger, K. S. and Ungar, I. A. 1990. Effects of soil salinity on growth and ion content of the inland halophyte Hordeum jubatum . Bot. Gaz. 151:314–321.Google Scholar
Badger, K. S. and Ungar, I. A. 1994. Seed bank dynamics in an inland salt marsh, with special emphasis on the halophyte Hordeum jubatum L. Int. J. Plant Sci. 155:66–72.Google Scholar
Baskin, C. C. and Baskin, J. M. 1998. Seeds: ecology, biogeography and evolution of dormancy and germination. San Diego Academic Press. 666 p.Google Scholar
Best, K. F., Banting, J. D., and Bowes, G. G. 1978. The biology of Canadian weeds, 31: Hordeum jubatum L. Can. J. Plant Sci. 58:1699–1708.Google Scholar
Blouch, R. M. 1953. Grass herbicides in today's agricultural economy. Sci. Mon. 76:36–41.Google Scholar
Bowes, G. G. 1984. Use of propyzamide to control foxtail barley in Russian wild ryegrass. Can. J. Plant Sci. 64:725–730.Google Scholar
Cheeseman, J. M. 1988. Mechanisms of salinity tolerance in plants. Plant Physiol. 87:547–550.Google Scholar
Clipson, N. J. W. and Flowers, T. J. 1987. Salt tolerance in the halophyte Suaeda maritima (L.) Dum—the effect of salinity on the concentration of sodium in the xylem. New Phytol. 105:359–366.Google Scholar
Cords, H. P. 1960. Factors affecting the competitive ability of foxtail barley (Hordeum jubatum). Weeds. 8:636–644.Google Scholar
Currie, P. O., Hilken, T. O., and White, R. S. 1986. Field evaluation of five grasses grown on a saline soil. J. Range Manag. 39:386–388.Google Scholar
Dodd, J. D. and Coupland, R. T. 1966. Vegetation of saline areas in Saskatchewan. Ecology. 47:958–968.Google Scholar
Flowers, T. J. 1985. Physiology of halophytes. Plant Soil. 89:41–56.Google Scholar
Flowers, T. J. and Colmer, T. D. 2008. Salinity tolerance in halophytes. New Phytol. 179:945–963.Google Scholar
Garthwaite, A. J., von Bothmer, R., and Colmer, T. D. 2005. Salt tolerance in wild Hordeum species is associated with restricted entry of Na+ and Cl− into the shoots. J. Exp. Bot. 56:2365–2378.Google Scholar
Gorham, J., Wyn Jones, R. G., and McDonnell, E. 1985. Some mechanisms of salt tolerance in crop plants. Plant Soil. 89:15–40.Google Scholar
Henry, L., Harron, B., and Flaten, D. 1987. The Nature and Management of Salt-Affected Land in Saskatchewan. Moose Jaw, Canada Saskatchewan Agriculture AgDex 518. 23 p.Google Scholar
Lee, J-D., Smothers, S. L., Dunn, D., Villagarcia, M., Shumway, C. R., Carter, T. E. Jr., and Shannon, J. G. 2008. Evaluation of a simple method to screen soybean genotypes for salt tolerance. Crop Sci. 48:2194–2200.Google Scholar
Ludwig, J. R. and McGinnies, W. J. 1978. Revegetation trials on a saltgrass meadow. J. Range Manag. 31:308–311.Google Scholar
Miller, T. R. and Chapman, S. R. 1978. Germination responses of three forage grasses to different concentrations of six salts. J. Range Manag. 31:123–124.Google Scholar
Moxley, M. G., Berg, W. A., and Barrau, E. M. 1978. Salt tolerance of five varieties of wheatgrass during seedling growth. J. Range Manag. 31:54–55.Google Scholar
Munns, R. and Tester, M. 2008. Mechanisms of salinity tolerance. Ann. Rev. Plant Biol. 59:651–681.Google Scholar
Noaman, M. M., Dvorak, J., and Dong, J. M. 2002. Genes inducing salt tolerance in wheat, Lophopyrum elongatum and amphiploid and their responses to ABA under salt stress. Pages 139–144 in Ahmad, R. and Malik, K. A., eds. Prospects for Saline Agriculture. Volume 27: Tasks for Vegetation Science. 480 p.Google Scholar
Parida, A. K. and Das, A. B. 2005. Salt tolerance and salinity effects on plants: a review. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 60:324–349.Google Scholar
Parrondo, R. T., Gosselink, J. G., and Hopkinson, C. S. 1978. Effects of salinity and drainage on the growth of three salt marsh grasses. Bot. Gaz. 139:102–107.Google Scholar
Peel, M. D., Waldron, B. L., Jensen, K. B., Chatterton, N. J., Horton, H., and Dudley, L. M. 2004. Screening for salinity tolerance in alfalfa: a repeatable method. Crop Sci. 44:2049–2053.Google Scholar
Redmann, R. E. 1972. Plant communities and soils of an eastern North Dakota prairie. Bull. Torr. Bot. Club. 99:65–76.Google Scholar
Rogers, M. E. 2007. The response of four perennial grass species to sodium chloride salinity when irrigated with saline waters. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 58:225–232.Google Scholar
Roundy, B. A. 1985. Emergence and establishment of basin wildrye and tall wheatgrass in relation to moisture and salinity. J. Range Manag. 38:126–131.Google Scholar
Umezawa, T., Shimizu, K., Kato, M., and Ueda, T. 2000. Enhancement of salt tolerance in soybean with NaCl pretreatment. Physiol. Plant. 110:59–63.Google Scholar
Ungar, I. A. 2001. Seed banks and seed population dynamics of halophytes. Wetl. Ecol. Manag. 9:499–510.Google Scholar
Venables, A. V. and Wilkins, D. A. 1978. Salt tolerance in pasture grasses. New Phytol. 80:613–622.Google Scholar
White, L. M. 1984. Foxtail barley heading, yield, and quality as influenced by growth regulators and a desiccant. Agron. J. 76:27–30.Google Scholar
Whitson, T. D., Burrill, L. C., Dewey, S. A., Cudney, D. W., Nelson, B. E., Lee, R. D., and Parker, R. 2000. Weeds of the West. 9th ed. Jackson, WY Western Society of Weed Science. 630 p.Google Scholar
Wilson, D. B. 1967. Growth of Hordeum jubatum under various soil conditions and degrees of plant competition. Can. J. Plant Sci. 47:405–412.Google Scholar
Yang, H., Huang, Z., Baskin, C. C., Baskin, J. M., Cao, Z., Zhu, X., and Dong, M. 2009. Response of caryopsis germination, early seedling growth and ramet clonal growth of Bromus inermis to soil salinity. Plant Soil. 316:265–275.Google Scholar
Zhu, J. K. 2001. Plant salt tolerance. Trends Plant Sci. 6:66–71.Google Scholar