Comparing Canola, Field Pea, Dry Bean, and Durum Wheat Crops Grown in Saline Media

• Published in: Crop science Vol. 41; no. 6; pp. 1827 - 1833
• Main Authors: Steppuhn, H., Volkmar, K. M., Miller, P. R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Madison, WI Crop Science Society of America 01-11-2001; American Society of Agronomy
• Subjects: Agricultural production; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Beans; Biological and medical sciences; Cereal crops; Comparative analysis; Crops; Crops and soils; Deficiencies. Phytotoxicity of elements. Salinity; Environmental aspects; Evaluation; Field crops; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agronomy. Plant production; Plant growth; Salinity; Salt; Salt tolerance; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility. Fertilization. Amendments; Soils; Wheat; United States; Monocotyledones; Salt resistance; Biomass; Cereal crop; Dose activity relation; Cruciferae; Gramineae; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Plant height; Sodium Chlorides; Soilless cultivation; Interspecific comparison; Tolerance; Plant emergence; Survival; Calcium chloride; Salinity; Grain legume; Triticum turgidum; Sensitivity resistance; Phytotoxicity; Leguminosae; Phaseolus vulgaris; Pisum sativum; Brassica napus; Spermatophyta; Yield component; Oil plant (vegetal)
• ISSN: 0011-183X; 1435-0653
• DOI: 10.2135/cropsci2001.1827

Farmers have requested comparative information on the salt tolerance of the field crops they seek to grow as alternatives to wheat. In response, a study was conducted in the Salt Tolerance Testing Laboratory at Swift Current, SK, to compare the productivity of canola (Brassica napus cv. Cyclone), field pea (Pisum sativum cv. green‐seed Radley and cv. yellow‐seed Carneval), and pinto dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris cv. Othello) crops to that of a durum wheat (Triticum turgidum cv. Kyle) crop grown in saline media. Test solutions were salinized prior to seeding by adding NaCl and CaCl2 (1:1 by mass) to hydroponic nutrients, resulting in three levels of root‐zone salinity: near zero, moderate, and severe [solution electrical conductivities of 1.2 (nutrients only), 11.2, and 24.9 dS m−1, respectively]. Eight response variables evaluated crop performance: time from seeding to initial emergence, emergence rate, final emergence and survival, plant height, aboveground biomass, grain yield, relative grain yield, and grain yield per plant. The durum wheat emerged and survived moderate and severe salinity better than any of the alternative crops. The wheat crop also produced more biomass and grain under moderately saline conditions than produced by the pea and the bean crops, but not the canola. Under severe salinity, neither the field peas nor the dry bean produced any grain, but the wheat and the canola crops managed to yield 0.4 and 20.1% of their respective productivity in nonsaline rooting media. The combined salt tolerance ranking in ascending order for the crop cultivars grown in both saline rooting media was: Othello = Carneval < Radley < Kyle < Cyclone.