The growth response of tropical and sub-tropical forage species to increasing salinity

摘要

There is currently a growing coal scam gas (CSG) industry inQueensland, Australia. The industry requires beneficial-use strategies to consume the significant volumes of water released during CSG extraction. Irrigation of tropical and sab-tropical forage species for beef production is one option, however coal seam (CS) water is of varying quality due to moderate to high salinity and alkalinity. The application of chemically amended CS water over time could potentially increase soil salinity, which isknown to reduce plant biomass production. While there were studies of safety tolerance of many tropical and sub-tropical forage years ago, there is a need to examine the tolerance of more recently released species and cultivars which suitable for planting in the Queensland CSG area.