Screening for Salt Tolerant Forage Species Conducted by Allison Levy, Undergraduate Under the Direction of Dr. James Bauder, Professor

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Screening for Salt Tolerant Forage
SpeciesConducted by Allison Levy, Undergraduate
Under the Direction of Dr. James Bauder,
Professor
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Screening for Salt Tolerance
Phase I
Phase III
Phase II
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Research Objectives

• Determine survivability and early plant biomass
  production sixteen different forage species
  (phase I II ).
• Irrigate with water qualities that were chosen to
  represent conditions of water surface supplies
  that could result from coal bed methane (CBM)
  development.
• Define a short list of species that are in a
  long-term experiment to assess (forage) biomass
  production potential utilizing CBM x surface
  water mixes (phase II III)
• Field scale demo
• (phase III)

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Plant x Salinity Background

• Osmotic effect
• Glycophytes

• Salinity effects plant growth
• -germination
• -vegetative growth
• -reproductive growth

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Background-Plant x SalinityGermination

• Low salinity stimulates germination (Croser et
  al., 2001)
• Salinity inhibits germination by limiting water
  uptake (Croser et al., 2001)
• High amounts of Na, and Cl affect availability of
  other ions K, Mg, N or P (Rogers, 1997)

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Phase IGermination Screening

• determine survivability and early plant biomass
  production of sixteen different forage species
• irrigated with water qualities that represent
  conditions that could result from CBM development
• Define a short list of species to be used in
  phase II III

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Water Treatments
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Design

• Nine trays.
• Dimensions 45 x 35 x 9 inches.
• Each tray contained 4 flats.
• Each flat had 4 species
• 16 species per tray
• Three trays per replication
• Within a rep each tray received one of the three
  water qualities
• One drainage hole on the bottom side of each tray

Phase I
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Design
Phase 1

• Water reached predetermined level during each
  irrigation cycle
• Water chemistries applied for five-day intervals
  discarded and replaced with new 100L stock
  solution
• Each 100 L stock solution contained 500mL
  nutrients

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Planting

• Sand was selected planting medium.
• Species within each replication were randomized
• -four species per flat
• -two rows per species
• -twenty seeds per row

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Species Used in Screening for Salt
Tolerance Phase I

• Corn Zea
  mays
• Altai
  Elymus angustus
• Tall Wheatgrass Agropyron
  elongatum
• Crested Wheatgrass Agropyron
  cristatum
• Kochia Kochia
  scorparia
• Sorghum Bicolor
  (L.) moench
• Intermediate Wheatgrass Agropyron intermedium
• Newhly Wheatgrass Elyrtigia repens x
  Pseudoroegneria spicata
• Tall Fescue Festuca
  arundinacea
• Paiute Orchardgrass Dactylis glomerata
  L.
• Slender Wheatgrass Agropyron
  trachycaulum
• Perennial Ryegrass Lolium perennal
• Valier Hordeum
  valier
• Sugarbeets Beta
  vulgaris L.
• Hi Mag Tall Fescue Festuca arundinacea
  hi mag
• 2nd Gen. Alfalfa Medicago sativa

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Harvest

• Five-week germination period
• Counted plants
• Harvested for above ground biomass
• Plant samples were oven dried
• Samples were weighed
• Sand samples were dried and sent to lab

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Analyses

• Post germination soil analyzed for electrical
  conductivity (salinity), SAR (sodium adsorption
  ratio), base cations (Na, Ca, and Mg), pH, and
  bicarbonates
• Species x water quality combination determined
• Determined germination and survivability

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Results- ANOVAForage Species Germination Study
F values followed by , , are significant
at the 99, 95, 90 levels.
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The Short ListPhase II
Corn
Zea mays Tall fescue
Festuca arundunacea Intermediate
wheatgrass Agropyron
intermedium Slender wheatgrass
Agropyron trachycaulum Altai wildrye
Elymus
angustus Tall wheatgrass
Agropyron elongatum Valier barley
Hordeum valier
Sorghum
Bicolor (L.) moench
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Design Phase II Short List Greenhouse Experiment
3 replicate randomized block pot within
pot evaporation pan 10 leaching fraction
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Phase II Grow Out Greenhouse Experiment
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Planting Phase II
Planting medium sand Species within each rep
were randomized 1 species per pot 30 seeds for
grasses 10 seeds corn 20 seeds barley
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Harvest
Altai Wildrye
Above ground biomass
Root mass
Dried weighed
Corn
Sent to lab for analysis
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• Analyses
• Post germination soil analyzed for electrical
  conductivity (salinity), SAR (sodium adsorption
  ratio), base cations (Na, Ca, and Mg), pH, and
  bicarbonates
• Species x water quality combination determined
• Determined germination and survivability
• Plant tissue analyses

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Dry Weight Above Ground Biomass in Sand
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Dry Weight Root Mass in Sand
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Irrigated with Saline-sodic Water
Sand vs. Clay
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Irrigated with Saline-sodic Water
Sand vs. Clay
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The Short ListPhase III
Corn
Zea mays Tall fescue
Festuca arundunacea Intermediate
wheatgrass Agropyron
intermedium Slender wheatgrass
Agropyron trachycaulum Altai wildrye
Elymus
angustus Tall wheatgrass
Agropyron elongatum Valier barley
Hordeum valier
Harrington barley
Hordeum harrington Maritime (seacoast) barley
Hays barley
MT 981060 Saltbush
Atriplex aptera
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Design
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Hayes Ranch Tongue River
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Gay Ranch Powder River
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Thanks To
Dr. James Bauder
The entire Jimmy clan