Suaeda glauca can be produced hydroponically at moderate NACL salinity

Abstract

Suaeda glauca is an annual halophyte growing in saline–alkali environment in North China. To evaluate the potential of producing S. glauca as a vegetable at moderate NaCl concentrations, plants were grown in nutrient solutions with 6, 8, and 10mM NaCl, and with 200mM NaCl as a control. Results showed that main stem length, true leaf number, side branch number, and canopy width of plants in 6–10mM NaCl were not significantly different from those in 200 mM. Also, no significant differences in fresh and dry weights of individual plants, marketable yield, and water use efficiency of the plants were observed between 6–10 and 200mM NaCl treatments.Despite remarkable decreases in sodium uptake, similarwater consumptions by the plants were obtained in 6–10 vs. 200 mM NaCl. The results suggest that S. glauca is a potential candidate for hydroponic production as a vegetable at moderate NaCl salinity, since growth attributes and biomass accumulation were not reduced when grown at lower salinity levels, despite with decreased sodium uptake.