Abstract
Vetiver grass [Vetiveria zizanioides (L.) Nash] without seeds, suitable for growing on coastal saline land, has attracted attention because of oil extraction from its roots and industrial and agricultural use. In this study, a pot experiment with different NaCl contents was used to investigate the influence of water salinity levels on vetiver, salt tolerance, and the feasibility of transferring it to coastal saline regions. The results indicated that the fresh weight of roots and shoots increased initially and then gradually decreased with an increase in NaCl content, and the maximum was attributed to a water salinity of 0.3%. The vetiver can tolerate a maximum saline content of up to 2%. The promotion of vetiver growth under water salinity could be attributed to the acceleration of nutrient uptake-induced saline, including K, N, and Cl. The growth of vetiver was insignificantly inhibited with 0.5% water salinity (mild stress), significantly inhibited with 1.0% water salinity (moderate stress: biomass decrease), and severe inhibited with >1.5% water salinity (intense stress: biomass decrease). The salt tolerance of vetiver was due to osmotic regulation by reducing sugars under mild stress and of proline under intense stress, and Na+ sequestration in roots and the transformation of Cl− away from sensitive roots. The vetiver could be cultivated in slightly coastal saline soil (0.1–0.2% soil salinity) and even moderately saline coastal soil (0.2–0.4% soil salinity) under irrigation with low salt water during transplanting.
Highlights
There are 2270 km2 of coastal saline soil in north China [1,2], and most of it is low-yield fields and wastelands
Fresh shoot and root weights of vetiver irrigated with 0.5% saline water significantly increased at 10, 21, and 36 d than CK, (Figure 1a), while no significant effect was observed after
Vetiver is recommended for planting in slightly salinized soils (0.1–0.2% soil salinity), even moderately salinized soils (0.2–0.4% soil salinity) under irrigation with low-salinity water during transplanting in the coastal saline soils of the Yellow River Delta characterized by high Cl, Na, K [37]
Summary
There are 2270 km of coastal saline soil in north China [1,2], and most of it is low-yield fields and wastelands. Among the coastal saline soils, the Yellow River Delta, one of the three largest river deltas in China, accounts for a large proportion. One approach to increase saline land use is to identify new plant species with salt tolerance [5,6]. A few plant species with low economic value can survive in coastal saline soils, including Suaeda glauca (Bunge) and Tamarix chinensis (Lour), because salt (NaCl) imposes several kinds of stress on plants [7,8]. It is of great significance to introduce environmentally protective and economically valuable plants with salt tolerance in coastal saline areas
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