Short-term responses of young Typha domingensis and Typha orientalis plants to high levels of potassium chloride

Abstract

The responses of young shoots of the emergent species Typha domingensis Pers. and Typha orientalis Presl. to KCl were tested under glasshouse conditions. Preliminary trials had shown that piggery effluent containing 75 mM K and 48 mM Cl was toxic to these species. In the glasshouse both were able to grow at 25–50 mM KCl but only the fresh-weight growth of T. orientalis at 25 mM KCl exceeded that of the control plants. Plants at 75 and 100 mM KCl had chlorotic and wilted leaves. Growth was also measured as dry-weight and leaf-number changes. At the four KCl levels used (25, 50, 75 and 100 mM) the plants accumulated K, 6–8% dry weight, at the expense of Ca and Na accumulation. The growth and salt-accumulation results are discussed in view of the potential of these species to treat wastewater such as that from an intensive piggery.