ISHS Acta Horticulturae 661: I International Conference on Turfgrass Management and Science for Sports Fields
EFFECTS OF SALINITY ON SIX BERMUDAGRASS TURF CULTIVARS |
| Authors: | C.H. Peacock, D.J. Lee, W.C. Reynolds, J.P. Gregg, R.J. Cooper, A.H. Bruneau |
| Keywords: | bermudagrass, Cynodon spp., salinity tolerance |
| Abstract:
Managed turfgrass areas are being irrigated with saline water due to increased use of reclaimed water, salt water intrusion of coastal areas, and more regulated water-use restrictions. The objective of this study was to evaluate six bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.) cultivars response to varying salinity levels. A sea salt mixture was added to half-strength Hoagland’s nutrient solution to provide electrical conductivity levels of 1.1, 10.3, 18.8, 26.9, 34.5, and 41.5 dS m-1. A split-plot design with five replications was used to evaluate salinity as the main plot effect and cultivar as the sub-plot effect. Turfgrass cultivars differed significantly in response to salinity. ‘Quickstand’ bermudagrass produced the greatest amount of total shoot material (214 g m-2). ‘Tifton-10’ (199 g m-2), ‘Tifway’ (194 g m-2), and ‘Navy Blue’ (191 g m-2) all produced more shoot material than ‘GN-1’ (162 g m-2) and ‘TifSport’ (161 g m-2). Linear regression analysis found differences in shoot growth by salinity effects for ‘TifSport’ (r2=0.95), ‘Tifton-10’ (r2=0.97), ‘Tifway’ (r2=0.86), and ‘Quickstand’ (r2=0.94). ‘Navy Blue’ (r2=0.95) and ‘GN-1’ (r2=0.85) shoot growth by salinity effects responded quadratically using a second order polynomial regression equation. The greatest reduction in shoot weight was found with Tifway (43%), Quickstand (42%) and Tifton-10 (41%) comparing the control to the highest salinity level. No differences were found in root or crown weights in response to salinity. | |
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