Salt influence on germination and seedling survival of six cool season turfgrass species

Abstract

Abstract ‘Merion’ Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.), ‘Pennfine’ perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), ‘Seaside’ creeping bent‐grass (Agrostis palustris Huds.), ‘Dawson’ slender creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra trichophylla (L.) Gaud.), ‘Fults’ weeping alkaligrass (Puccinellia distans (L.) Parl.), and ‘common’ Lemmon alkaligrass (Puccinellia lemmoni (Vasey) Scribn.) were evaluated for germination and seedling survival in the greenhouse and laboratory under saline conditions. Overall results indicated that weeping and Lemmon alkaligrass were superior performers under saline and/or sodic conditions. Among the remaining four species, none appeared clearly superior in overall performance. Key words: Puccinellia spp.salinitygermination Notes Supported by the Colorado State University Experiment Station and published as Scientific Series Paper No. Farm Advisor, University of California Cooperative Extension, Berkeley, California; Professor of Horticulture and Professor of Agronomy, respectively, Colorado State University, Ft. Collings, Colorado.