Drought Tolerance of Twenty one Saltgrass (Distichlis) Accessions Compared to Bermudagrass

Abstract

Fourteen (14) Arizona accessions and 7 Colorado accessions of Saltgrass (Distichlis spicata), collected from Arizona and Colorado and 1 Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon), cultivar Midiron (check), were studied in a greenhouse to evaluate their growth responses in terms of shoot dry weights and percentage of visual green under drought stress conditions. Plants were grown under normal (daily watering and weekly fertilizer application) for one year for complete establishment. Then, the plants were deprived from water for four months (January 5, 2001 - May 5, 2001). Plant clippings were harvested weekly, oven dried at 60 °C, and the dry weights were recorded. At each harvest, percentage of green cover were also estimated and recorded. After the last harvest, plants were re-watered to assess and compare the percent of recovery. Overall, the results (both shoot dry weights and the percent of the visual green) show that the A138 and A137 (Arizona accessions) were the best accessions and the C66 (Colorado accession) was the worst. Both the shoot dry weights and the percent of visual green cover decreased as the drought period progressed. In general, most of the saltgrass accessions were more tolerant to drought stress than the bermudagrass.