Vegetative Propagation of Desert Saltgrass Rhizomes

Abstract

Desert saltgrass is a potential candidate for mine spoil-bank revegetation in much of the semiarid West. Laboratory studies showed optimum temperature for growth to be 25 to 30 degrees C. No clear relationship was found between length of a rhizome section and its capacity to sprout. In desiccation experiments, one-node segments lost water more quickly than did two-node sections. A marked reduction in rhizome sprouting occurred when moisture losses exceeded 35% of the initial weight. One-node rhizomes stored in polyethylene bags of temperatures of 2 and 10 degrees C had sprouting percentages in excess of 65% after 28 days.