Switchgrass and Prairie Cordgrass Seed Germination Under Saline Condition.

Prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata Link) is a native warm-season grass that grows well on poorly drained and/or salt affected soils and has potential of high biomass yield. Soil salinity and salt types significantly influence native prairie grass seed germination rate. Salt tolerance during germination was examined in two native grasses; ‘Cave-In-Rock’ switchgrass and ‘Red River’ prairie cordgrass.  Germination was evaluated under various salt concentrations: 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 M of NaCl. For switchgrass, significant decrease in germination percentage (4.0%) was observed above 0.3 M NaCl. In contrast, prairie cordgrass germination was not affected by NaCl concentration up to 0.2 M and germination rate decreased to 40% in 0.4 M solution. Prairie cordgrass could have great potential to be used as a bioenergy crop in salt affected soil, which is not suitable for corn and soybean production.