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Pak. J. Bot., 44(4): 1347-1350, 2012.

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GROWTH RESPONSE OF SOME CULTIVARS OF BERMUDA GRASS (CYANODON DACTYLON L.) TO SALT STRESS

MUHAMMAD NADEEM¹, ADNAN YOUNIS^1*, ATIF RIAZ¹, MANSOOR HAMEED², TAHIRA NAWAZ² AND MUHAMMAD QASIM¹

Abstract: Turfgrasses range from extremely salt sensitive to highly salt tolerant. Turfgrass improvement for salinity tolerance requires reliable assessment for their adaptability to saline conditions, which vary among grasses. In the present study, four Bermuda grass cultivars -Tifway, Tifdwarf, Dacca and Khabbal (local ecotype) were assessed for salinity tolerance using half-strength Hoagland’s solution culture system under green house conditions. The cultivars were exposed to five salinity levels viz., 2.4 (control) 50, 100, 150 and 200 mM NaCl). Increasing salt concentration in the nutrient media caused: (a) a reduction in number of stolons/plug, number of roots/plug, length of shoot, dry weights of root and shoot, turf quality, and potassium content in stolons, (b) increase in sodium and chloride content in stolons. Overall, cv. Tifway was found to be the most tolerant to salinity while Khabbal the most sensitive, among all four grass cultivars.

¹Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

²Department of Botany, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan

*Corresponding author’s email. adnanyounis@uaf.edu.pk