Abstract
Saline soils negatively affect plant growth, so there is a need to develop salt tolerant plant materials for rangeland uses. Five strawberry clover (Trifolium fragiferum L.) cultivars were compared to 95 plant introductions for tolerance to salinity during germination and greenhouse seedling growth. Mean tolerance of the cultivars to NaCl during germination did not differ significantly (p>0.05) from that of the introductions. Individual plant introduction accessions were superior to each of the cultivars in tolerance to NaCl during germination. Mean shoot dry weight, shoot height, and number of shoot branches of the cultivars were greater (p<0.05) than those of the plant introductions in both the control and saline irrigation treatments. Mean cultivar plant tolerance to salinity, as indicated by saline/control treatment ratios for shoot dry weight, shoot height, and number of branches, was not superior to that of the plant introductions. Germination tolerance to salinity was not correlated with plant growth in either saline or non-saline irrigation treatments. Ample genetic diversity is present within strawberry clover to permit development of cultivars with superior tolerance to salinity during seed germination. It will be more difficult to develop cultivars with superior plant growth in both saline and non-saline environments.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ab-Shukor N A, Kay Q O N, Stevens D P and Skibinski D O F 1988 Salt tolerance in natural populations of Trifolium repens L. New Phytol. 109, 483–490.
Anonymous 1963 New clover replaces Ladino in some areas. Crops Soils 15, 18.
Baltensperger A A, Watson C E, Smith M A, McLean S D and Gaussoin R E 1982 Registration of Fresa strawberry clover (Reg. No. 38). Crop Sci. 22, 1260.
Carlson J RJr., Ditterline R L, Martin J M, Sands D C and Lund R E 1983 Alfalfa seed germination in antibiotic agar containing NaCl. Crop Sci. 23, 882–885.
Donald C M 1970 Temperate pasture species. In Australian Grasslands. Ed. R MMoore. pp 303–320. Australian National Univ. Press, Canberra.
ElFawal M A and El Nakhlawy F S 1989 Responses of five forage crops to temperature and salt stresses at germination. Acta Agron. Hung. 38, 305–312.
Gauch H G and Magistad O C 1943 Growth of strawberry clover varieties and of alfalfa and ladino clover as affected by salt. Agron. J. 35, 871–880.
George L Y and Williams W A 1964 Germination and respiration of barley strawberry clover, and ladino clover seeds in salt solutions. Crop Sci. 4, 450–452.
Gillett J M 1985 Taxonomy and morphology. In Clover Science and Technology. Ed. N LTaylor. pp 7–47 Am. Soc. Agron., Madison, WI.
Hoagland D R and Arnon D I 1950 Circular 347. California Agri. Exp. Sta., Berkeley.
Hollowell E A 1960 Strawberry clover: A legume for the west. USDA Leaflet No. 464.
James D W and Jurinak J J 1986 Irrigation resources in Utah: Water quality versus soil salinity, soil fertility and the environment. Utah Agric. Exp. Stn., Res. Bull. No. 514.
Johnson D W, Smith S E and Dobrenz A K 1991 Genetic and phenotypic relationships in response to NaCl at different developmental stages in alfalfa. Theor. Appl. Genet. 83, 833–838.
Johnson D W, Smith S E and Dobrenz A K 1992 Selection for increased forage yield in alfalfa at different NaCl levels. Euphytica 60, 27–35.
Jurinak J J and Suarez D L 1990 The chemistry of salt-affected soils and waters. In Agricultural Salinity Assessment and Management. Ed. K K Tanji. pp 42–63. Am. Soc. Civil Eng. Manuals and Reports on Engineering Practice No. 71, New York.
Maas E V 1984 Crop tolerance. Calif. Agric. 38, 20–21.
Nieman R H and Shannon M C 1977 Screening plants for salinity tolerance. In Plant Adaptation to Mineral Stress in Problem Soils. Ed. M JWright. pp 359–367. Proc. Workshop at Natl. Agric. Library, Beltsville, MD 22–23 Nov. 1976. Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca, NY.
Noble C L, Halloran G M and West D W 1984 Identification and selection for salt tolerance in lucerne (Medicago sativa L.). Aust. J. Agric. Res. 35, 239–252.
Peterson M L, Street J E and Osterli V P 1962 Salina strawberry clover. California Agric. Exp. Stn. Leafl. 146.
Rumball W, Claydon R B and Miller J E 1991a ‘Grassland Onward’ strawberry clover (Trifolium fragiferum L.). N.Z. J. Agric. Res. 34, 131–133.
Rumball W, Claydon R B and Miller J E 1991b ‘Grassland Upward’ strawberry clover (Trifolium fragiferum L.). N.Z. J. Agric. Res. 34, 135–136.
Rumbaugh M D 1991 Salt tolerance of germinating alfalfa seeds. In Standard Tests to Characterize Alfalfa Cultivars. Edition 3. Eds. C Fox, R Berberet, F A Gray, C R Grau, D L Jessen and M A Peterson, pp A-3. North American Alfalfa Improvement Conference, Beltsville MD.
Rumbaugh M D and Pendery B M 1990 Germination salt resistance of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) germplasm in relation to subspecies and centers of diversity. Plant and Soil 124, 47–51.
Russell P G 1958 Plant material introduced January 1 to December 31, 1953. Plant Inventory No. 161, U.S. Dept. Agric., Washington, DC.
SAS Institute Inc. 1987 SAS/STAT guide for personal computers, version 6 edition. Cary, NC.
Tiver N S 1954 Strawberry clover. J. Dept. Agric. S. Aust. 57, 317–325.
Townsend C E 1985 Miscellaneous perennial clovers. In Clover Science and Technology. Ed. N LTaylor. pp 563–578. Am. Soc. Agron., Madison, WI.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rumbaugh, M.D., Pendery, B.M. & James, D.W. Variation in the salinity tolerance of strawberry clover (Trifolium fragiferum L.). Plant Soil 153, 265–271 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00012999
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00012999