Effect of watertable depth and salinity on growth dynamics of Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana)

CHIACCHIERA, SEBASTIÁN; BERTRAM, NICOLÁS; TALEISNIK, EDITH; JOBBÁGY, ESTEBAN

Crop and Pasture Science

CSIRO

Lugar: sydney; Año: 2016 vol. 67 p. 881 - 881

1836-0947

epending on their depth, watertables can have a positive effect on plants by supplying water, a negative effect by creating waterlogged and/or saline conditions or a neutral effect. Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana), a tropical perennial forage adapted to saline soils, floods and droughts, is a viable choice for the lowlands in the Pampas region of Argentina. The effects of the depth and salt concentration of the watertable on the growth dynamics and biomass accumulation of Rhodes grass were quantified in a greenhouse experiment. The experiment consisted of 10 treatments, resulting from the factorial combination of five watertable depths (25, 75, 125, 175 and 225cm) and two salt treatments (EC 1.4 and 20.5dSm-1). The presence of non-saline watertable at a depth of 25cm produced a 5-fold greater biomass and showed an increase in water consumption of equal magnitude compared with deeper watertables. The increase in shoot biomass was explained primarily by higher tiller and stolon density, w