Publication Date
1993
Description
There are over 1.2 million ha of cultivated saline land in the province of Alberta, Canada. Our experiment's objectives were to develop reliable recommendations under field conditions of the salinity tolerance of various grasses. Information on how salinity levels influence the growth of grasses under field conditions would provide better management options for forage production. An irrigated site was established at Brooks and a dryland site at Hanna, Alberta. Twenty-five species are being evaluated under irrigation and I 9 under dry land using a randomised block design, Forage yields indicate that tall wheatgrass (Elytrigia pontica), Dahurian wildrye (Elymus dahuricus) and Russian wildryc (Psathyrostachys juncea) have a high degree of salinity tolerance under irrigation. Under dry conditions pubescent wheatgrass (Elytrigia illlermedia ssp. trichophora) and weeping alkaligrass (Puccinellia distans) were the most saline tolerant. Turfgrass species such as tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) and creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra) showed good-to-moderate tolerance to salinity.
Citation
McKenzie, R C.; Najda, H G.; and King, J R., "Salinity Tolerance of Turf and Forage Grasses" (2024). IGC Proceedings (1993-2023). 5.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1993/session40/5
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Salinity Tolerance of Turf and Forage Grasses
There are over 1.2 million ha of cultivated saline land in the province of Alberta, Canada. Our experiment's objectives were to develop reliable recommendations under field conditions of the salinity tolerance of various grasses. Information on how salinity levels influence the growth of grasses under field conditions would provide better management options for forage production. An irrigated site was established at Brooks and a dryland site at Hanna, Alberta. Twenty-five species are being evaluated under irrigation and I 9 under dry land using a randomised block design, Forage yields indicate that tall wheatgrass (Elytrigia pontica), Dahurian wildrye (Elymus dahuricus) and Russian wildryc (Psathyrostachys juncea) have a high degree of salinity tolerance under irrigation. Under dry conditions pubescent wheatgrass (Elytrigia illlermedia ssp. trichophora) and weeping alkaligrass (Puccinellia distans) were the most saline tolerant. Turfgrass species such as tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) and creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra) showed good-to-moderate tolerance to salinity.
