Two soil wetting agents (linear sulfonate and alkyl polyethylene glycol ether) were evaluated on inhibition of germination and shoot growth of alkali sacaton, galleta, blue grama, and fourwing saltbush. Sacaton and galleta seeds were germinated in wetting agent solutions (185, 370, and 740 ppm by volume) as well as in sand and a water-repellent coal mine spoil sample treated with the wetting agents at rates equivalent to 23.5, 47, 94 liters/ha. Blue grama and saltbush were germinated only in the sand and spoil samples. Results indicate that in solution culture these wetting agents reduce germination, severely deter shoot growth of both sacaton and galleta, and cause nearly permanent injury to plumules of galleta seeds. Wetting agents applied to sand at the comparable rates cause only minor reduction in shoot emergence and growth of the tested grass species, presumably due to soil sorption of wetting agents. The wetting agents tested are potentially phytotoxic, especially the sulfonate compound to saltbush, but can improve shoot emergence when applied to water-repellent media. This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles published by the Society for Range Management. Access articles on a rolling-window basis from vol. 1, 1948 up to 5 years from the current year. Formerly Journal of Range Management (JRM). More recent content is available by subscription from SRM.