Growth Responses of Tall Fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) to Salinity Stress

Tall fescue is moderately tolerant to salinity with great potential for use as turfgrass under saline conditions. The objective of this study was to investigate the growth habit and nutrient uptake of tall fescue under salinity stress. Two tall fescue cultivars, 'Tar Heel II' and 'Wolfpack' were seeded in plastic tubes filled with washed silica sand. Salinity treatment was applied by adding NaCl and CaCl2 (1:1 w/w) to the Hoagland solution in 16 g L-1. Salinity resulted in an average tiller number reduction of 50 % compared to the control, with 'Wolfpack' showed 5 % more reduction than 'Tar Heel II'. Root/shoot ratio was not affected by salinity treatment (P > 0.05). The tiller appearance rate (TAR) (0.4 week(-1)) and leaf appearance rate (LAR) (0.35 week(-1)) of tall fescue plants under salinity stress were significantly lower than the TAR and LAR of control, 1.90 week(-1) and 1.0 week(-1), respectively. It appeared that TAR was more affected than LAR by the stress. Salt treatment also reduced the uptake of K+ and Mg2+, but increased the uptake of Na+ and Ca2+ in the shoots of tall fescue. Salt treatment did not increase Ca2+ in the roots of tall fescue. In conclusion, maintaining K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ ionic balance in the shoots is important to improve the stress tolerance in tall fescue as indicated by a higher TAR