Effects of Sodium Chloride on <i>Cynodon</i> Turfgrasses¹

Abstract

Abstract Increased need for salt tolerant turfgrasses continues due to increased restrictions on water resources and to salt water intrusion into ground water. This is especially critical along coastal areas. Bermudagrass ( Cynodon spp.) cultivars are widely used throughout the South on golf courses, home lawns, and sports turf facilities. Information on tolerance of warm‐season turfgrass cultivars to salinity is limited. The purpose of these studies was to document the glasshouse response of eight bermudagrass cultivars to solution cultures differentially salinized with NaCl. Salt was added to a basic nutrient solution to provide five initial salinity levels ranging from 2.7 to 9.9 dS m −1 , but no cultivar differences were found in duplicate studies. Overall, top growth decreased 22%, but root growth increased 270% at the highest salt level. When salt levels ranged from 2.4 to 32.5 dS m −1 in a third study, cultivars differed in their response. ‘Tifdwarf’ and ‘Tifgreen’ were most tolerant while ‘common’ and ‘Ormond’ were most sensitive. Based on regression analyses within cultivars, Na increased and K decreased while total Na plus K in top growth was unaffected by salt concentration. Tissue levels of total Na plus K differed among cultivars.