Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T15:31:39.270Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Extreme Ionic and Temperature Effects on Germination of Weeping Alkaligrass (Puccinellia distans), Nuttall's Alkaligrass (Puccinellia nuttalliana) and Kentucky Bluegrass (Poa pratensis)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Catherine S. Tarasoff ,
Daniel A. Ball  and
Carol A. Mallory-Smith
Catherine S. Tarasoff*
Affiliation:
Department of Crop and Soil Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-3002
Daniel A. Ball
Affiliation:
Columbia Basin Agricultural Research Center, Oregon State University, Pendleton, OR 97801
Carol A. Mallory-Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Crop and Soil Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-3002
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: catherine.tarasoff@oregonstate.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The introduced species weeping alkaligrass, and the native species Nuttall's alkaligrass, two of the most salt-tolerant C3 grasses found in arid and semiarid environments of western North America, occur within the Grande Ronde valley of eastern Oregon. Both species occur as weeds within Kentucky bluegrass seed fields and subsequently as grass seed contaminants. Two separate germination experiments were conducted to understand better the seed germination biology of these two species compared to Kentucky bluegrass under negative water potentials or high temperature conditions. Results of these studies indicate that although all three species benefited from an ionic enhancement associated with NaCl, weeping alkaligrass was the most drought and salt tolerant of the three species. Dry seeds of weeping alkaligrass were also particularly tolerant to high temperatures with no differences in germination at temperatures below 50 C, indicating that seed viability under nonirrigated field conditions should be unaffected by high soil temperatures. Under soil temperature conditions as high as 40 C, moist Kentucky bluegrass seeds had the greatest germination rates, indicating that this species should benefit from irrigation more than the other two species.

Keywords

Nuttall's alkaligrass, Puccinellia nuttallianaweeping alkaligrass, Puccinellia distansKentucky bluegrass, Poa pratensis LGerminationhalophyteswater potential
Type
Weed Biology and Ecology
Information
Weed Science , Volume 55 , Issue 4 , August 2007 , pp. 305 - 310
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature Cited

Ashraf, M., McNeilly, T., and Bradshaw, A. D. 1986. The potential for evolution of salt (NaCl) tolerance in seven grass species. New Phytol. 103:299–309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baskin, C. C. and Baskin, J. M. 1998. Seeds: Ecology, Biogeography, and Evolution of Dormancy and Germination. San Diego Academic Press. 666.Google Scholar
Beyschlag, W., Ryel, R. J., Ullmann, I., and Eckstein, J. 1996. Experimental studies on the competitive balance between two central European roadside grasses with different growth forms. 2. Controlled experiments on the influence of soil depth, salinity and allelopathy. Bot. Acta. 109:449–455.Google Scholar
Cusick, A. W. 1982. Puccinellia distans (Jacq.) Parl. (Poaceae): a halophytic grass rapidly spreading in Ohio. SIDA. 9:360–363.Google Scholar
Dodd, G. and Donovan, L. 1999. Water potential and ionic effects of germination and seedling growth of two cold desert shrubs. Am. J. Bot. 86:1146–1153.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harivandi, M. A., Butler, J. D., and Soltanpour, P. N. 1983a. Effects of soluble salts on ion accumulation in Puccinellia spp. J. Plant Nutr. 6:255–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harivandi, M. A., Butler, J. D., and Soltanpour, P. N. 1983b. Effects of sea water concentrations on germination and ion accumulation in alkaligrass (Puccinellia spp). Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 13:507–517.Google Scholar
Hendricks, S. and Taylorson, R. 1976. Variation in germination and amino acid leakage of seeds with temperature related to membrane phase change. Plant Physiol. 58:7–11.Google Scholar
Hitchcock, A. S. 1971. Manual of the Grasses of the United States. 1st ed. New York Dover. 525.Google Scholar
Horst, G. and Taylor, R. 1983. Germination and initial growth of Kentucky bluegrass in soluble salts. Agron. J. 75:679–681.Google Scholar
Kramer, P. and Boyer, J. 1995. Water Relations of Plants and Soils. 2nd ed. San Diego Academic. 512.Google Scholar
Lang, A. 1967. Osmotic coefficients and water potentials of sodium chloride solutions from 0 to 40 C. Aust. J. Chem. 20:2017–2023.Google Scholar
Macke, A. J. and Ungar, I. A. 1971. The effects of salinity on germination and early growth of Puccinellia nuttalliana. Can. J. Bot. 49:515–520.Google Scholar
Michel, B. and Kaufman, M. 1973. The osmotic potential of polyethylene glycol 6,000. Plant Physiol. 51:914–916.Google Scholar
Moravcova, L. and Frantik, T. 2002. Germination ecology of Puccinellia distans and P. limosa . Biologia (Bratisl.) 57:441–448.Google Scholar
Ramsey, F. and Schafer, D. 2002. The Statistical Sleuth: A Course in Methods of Data Analysis. 2nd ed. Pacific Grove, CA Duxbury. 742.Google Scholar
Romo, J. and Eddleman, L. 1985. Germination response of greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus) to temperature, water potential and specific ions. J. Range Manag. 38:117–120.Google Scholar
Tarasoff, C. S., Ball, D. A., and Mallory-Smith, C. A. 2007. Afterripening requirements and optimal germination temperatures for Nuttall's alkaligrass (Puccinellia nuttalliana) and weeping alkaligrass (Puccinellia distans). Weed Sci. 55:36–40.Google Scholar
Ungar, I. 1991. Ecophysiology of vascular halophytes. Boca Raton, FL CRC Press. 209.Google Scholar
Vleeshouwers, L., Bouwmeester, H., and Karssen, C. 1995. Redefining seed dormancy: an attempt to integrate physiology and ecology. Ecology. 83:1031–1037.CrossRefGoogle Scholar