PRODUCTION OF CELOSIA ARGENTEA IRRIGATED WITH SALINE WASTEWATERS

Authors: CARTER, CHRISTY - U.C. RIVERSIDE, CA; Grieve, Catherine; Poss, James

Submitted to: Proceedings of the International Salinity Forum
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/11/2005
Publication Date: 4/25/2005
Citation: Carter, C.T., Grieve, C.M., Poss, J.A. 2005. Production of Celosia Argentea irrigated with saline wastewaters. In: Proceedings of the International Salinity Forum, Managing Saline Soils and Water: Science, Technology, and Soil Issues. April 25-27, 2005. Riverside, CA pp:103-106.

Interpretive Summary: The use of water resources has become one of the most important environmental issues in recent years, especially in southern California. Agriculture has historically been one of the primary users of water resources for the purposes of irrigation. In many regions, however, competition between agriculture and urban users is increasing due to population growth (Parsons, 2000). Likewise, flower growers and nurseries have also used the highest quality water to irrigate sensitive crops. But many cut flowers can tolerate moderate to high amounts of salinity and could be irrigated with wastewaters or greenhouse effluents containing higher amounts of salts. Our goal in this investigation was to determine marketability of Celosia when grown under two different saline wastewater compositions. Two different cultivars ("Chief Gold" and "Chief Rose") were exposed to increasing salinity. Stem length and flower quality were measured when plants were harvested. Mineral uptake was also determined. Saline wastewaters may be used to produce marketable cut flowers of Celosia. "Chief Gold" can be produced under saline conditions where electrical conductivities reach 12 dS/m for water ionic compositions mimicking sea water or wastewaters of the Imperial and Coachella Valleys of southern California. "Chief Rose" is best produced in ionic water compositions similar to the Imperial and Coachella valleys up to 10 dS/m, but can also be produced in sea water compositions up to 8 dS/m. Both varieties responded similarly to uptake of minerals when exposed to different water ionic compositions. Ca2+, K+, and total-P concentrations decreased whereas Mg2+, Na+, and Cl- concentrations increased in plant tissues as substrate salinity increased.

Technical Abstract: The use of water resources has become one of the most important environmental issues in recent years, especially in southern California. Agriculture has historically been one of the primary users of water resources for the purposes of irrigation. In many regions, however, competition between agriculture and urban users is increasing due to population growth (Parsons, 2000). Likewise, flower growers and nurseries have also used the highest quality water to irrigate sensitive crops. But many cut flowers can tolerate moderate to high amounts of salinity and could be irrigated with wastewaters or greenhouse effluents containing higher amounts of salts. This would enable growers to reduce precious fresh water use and reduce nutrient containing greenhouse effluents. Subsequent discharges into the environment would then reduce eutrophication potential and also reduce the total volume of wastewaters produced by increasing water-use-efficiency. Celosia sp. is in the Amaranthaceae, a family closely associated with the Chenopodiaceae that contains numerous species which are known for their salt tolerance. Given this association and its ability to withstand rather warm temperatures, Celosia was selected for its potential as a salt tolerant floral crop and was included in the floriculture salt screening program at the Salinity Laboratory. Therefore, the purposes of this investigation were to: 1) determine whether marketable cut flowers of two varieties of Celosia argentea could be produced under increasing salinity based on stem length; 2) assess phenotypic characters for each cultivar under increasing salinity; and 3) evaluate ion interactions and uptake for each cultivar under increasing salinity.