ET Rates of Distichlis (Inland Saltgrass) Clones A119, A48,Sea Isle 1 Sea Shore Paspalum and Tifway Bermudagrass

Abstract

The ET rate of bermudagrass is relatively well known. The ET rate of Seashore paspalum in an arid environment is not, nor is there any information on the ET of Distichlis as a mowed turf. A greenhouse test using gravimetric lysimeters was conducted in the late summer of 2004 to measure and compare the ET of two Distichlis clones and Sea Isle 1 seashore paspalum to that of Tifway 419 bermudagrass. This test showed that under glass house conditions when soil moisture was not limiting: (1)Seashore paspalum had a higher ET rate than A119 saltgrass in terms of mm/day, and total consumptive water use for the 19 day test period, (2) A48 saltgrass and Tifway bermudagrass had similar daily ET rates and similar total water use, (3) total water use between two select saltgrass clones was not significantly different . Saltgrass A48 and A119 had a total consumptive water use of 84.2 and 76.5 mm, respectively over the 19 day test period. Tifway Bermuda totaled 82.2 mm, and Sea Isle 1 used 92.1 mm over 19 days.