Salt Tolerance of Hydrangea Plants Varied among Species and Cultivar within a Species

Bibliographic Details
Title: Salt Tolerance of Hydrangea Plants Varied among Species and Cultivar within a Species
Authors: Genhua Niu, Youping Sun, Triston Hooks, James Altland, Haijie Dou, Christina Perez
Source: Horticulturae, Vol 6, Iss 3, p 54 (2020)
Publisher Information: MDPI AG, 2020.
Publication Year: 2020
Collection: LCC:Plant culture
Subject Terms: nursery crops, ornamentals, saline water irrigation, salt tolerance mechanism, Plant culture, SB1-1110
More Details: A greenhouse study was conducted to assess the relative salt tolerance of 11 cultivars of hydrangea: Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Ayesha’, ‘Emotion’, ‘Mathilda Gutges’, ‘Merritt’s Supreme’ and ‘Passion’; H. paniculata ‘Interhydia’ and ‘Bulk’; H. quercifolia ‘Snowflake’; H. serrata ‘Preciosa’; and H. serrata × macrophylla ‘Sabrina’ and ‘Selina’. Plants were treated with a nutrient solution at an electrical conductivity (EC) of 1.0 dS·m−1, and nutrient solution-based saline solutions at an EC of 5.0 dS·m−1 (EC 5) or 10 dS·m−1 (EC 10). The study was repeated in time (Experiments 1 and 2). In both experiments, by the fourth week after treatment, ‘Bulk’ plants in EC 10 exhibited severe salt damage with most of them dead. ‘Interhydia’ was also sensitive, showing severe salt damage in EC 10 with a high mortality rate by the end of the experiment. The leaf area and total shoot dry weight (DW) of all cultivars in EC 5 and EC 10 treatments were significantly reduced compared to the control. Leaf sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl−) concentrations were negatively correlated with visual quality, leaf area and shoot DW. The salt-sensitive cultivars ‘Bulk’, ‘Interhydia’ and ‘Snowflake’ had inherently low leaf Na+ and Cl− concentrations in both control and salt-treated plants compared to other cultivars. Salt tolerance varied among species and cultivars within H. macrophylla. Among the 11 cultivars, H. macrophylla ‘Ayesha’ and two hybrids, ‘Sabrina’ and ‘Selina’, were relatively salt-tolerant. H. macrophylla ‘Merritt’s Supreme’ and ‘Mathilda’ were moderately tolerant. H. paniculata ‘Bulk’ was the most sensitive, followed by H. paniculata ‘Interhydia’, and then by H. serrata ‘Preciosa’ and H. macrophylla ‘Passion’, as evidenced by high mortality and severe salt damage symptoms. H. quercifolia ‘Snowflake’ and H. macrophylla ‘Emotion’ were moderately salt-sensitive.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2311-7524
Relation: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/6/3/54; https://doaj.org/toc/2311-7524
DOI: 10.3390/horticulturae6030054
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/e78782c82cc24628b9038392a956655b
Accession Number: edsdoj.78782c82cc24628b9038392a956655b
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:23117524
DOI:10.3390/horticulturae6030054
Published in:Horticulturae
Language:English