Potential of Producing Salicornia bigelovii Hydroponically as a Vegetable at Moderate NaCl Salinity

Summary

Salicornia bigelovii is a halophyte that is capable of growing under high salinity. To evaluate the potential of producing S. bigelovii hydroponically as a vegetable at moderate NaCl concentrations, plants were grown in nutrient solutions with 6, 8, and 10 m m NaCl, and with 200 m m NaCl as a control. Results showed that plants had a reduced main stem length, canopy width, stem diameter, and root system length in 6 to 10 m m NaCl compared with those in 200 m m. Also, fresh weight increase, fresh and dry weights of individual plants, marketable yield, and water use efficiency of the plants grown in solutions with 6 to 10 m m NaCl were significantly lower than those grown in 200 m m. Associated with the reduced growth attributes, remarkable decreases in sodium uptake by the plants were also