Salt tolerance & protoplasmic salt hardiness of various woody & herbaceous ornamental plants

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Abstract
The salt tolerance of 28 species of woody and herbaceous plants was studied. The trees and shrubs were grown in salinized field plots, while the herbaceous plants were grown in salinized solution cultures. Tissue samples of the same species were measured for salt hardiness by 2 techniques. A. Plasmolytic method: (1) immersion of tissue sections in a graded series of NaCl solutions for 24 hours, followed by (2) immersion of sections in hypertonic sucrose solution for 4 hours, and (3) microscope examination for plasmolysis. The highest salt concentration at which the majority of the cells still became plasmolyzed was used as a measure of salt hardiness. B. Tetrazolium method: (1) step 1 above, (2) immersion of sections in a 0.1% or 0.05% solution of 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazoliumchloride for 24 hours, and (3) examination of sections for pink or red formazan color. The highest salt concentration at which the red color developed was used as a measure of salt hardiness. A good correlation was found between salt tolerance in field or solution cultures and both the plasmolytic and tetrazolium tests for salt hardiness. Salt tolerant species were golden willow (Salix alba var. vitellina); buffalo berry (Shepherdia argentea); black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia); honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis); Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia); squaw bush (Rhus trilobata); Tamarix gallica; Kochia scoparia var. culta; Petunia hybrida; and Portulaca grandiflora. The following species were not salt tolerant; blue spruce (Picea pungens); black walnut (Juglans nigra); linden (Tilia cordata); barberry (Berberis thunbergii); Euonymus alatus Rosa multiflora Spiraea vanhouttei; blue willow (Salix purpurea var. nana); douglas fir,Pseudotsuga menziesii Celosia argentia var. cristata Alyssum saxatile; pinks (Dianthus barbatus); snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus); and Zinnia elegans. The following species were somewhat salt tolerant: red cedar (Juniperus virginiana); Pinus ponderosa; green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica var. lanceolata); and honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica).

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