Salinity effects on 9 creeping bentgrass cultivars at the mature stage

A hydroponic system was used to compare the salinity tolerance of 9 creeping bentgrass （Agrostis stolonifera）cultivars at the mature stage. Salinity levels were set as 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 gL-1 NaCl. Turfgrass clippings yield (CY), leaf water content (LWC), chlorophyll content (Chl) and root mass (RM) were measured to compare the relative salinity tolerance of these cultivars. The results showed that salinity had detrimental effects on all indexes. However, CY and RM increased at the lower NaCl concentration solutes before day 22 and then decreased. Among all cultivars, Alpha was the most tolerant cultivar, Kingpin was the most sensitive one, and other cultivars were moderate tolerant culthvates. The results indicate that there is substantial variation in salinity tolerance among these cultivars.