University of Illinois Researcher Find Perennial Grasses Suitable for Salty Soils

Most prime agricultural land is used to produce food crops, leaving biofuel producers to establish crops on marginal land. The soil on marginal land is often salty, making crop production difficult. However, University of Illinois researchers have found several varieties of perennial grasses that can withstand high salt concentrations.

Researchers subjected six prairie cordgrass accessions and three switchgrass cultivars to different levels of sodicity and salinity over two years of growth. The study showed that prairie cordgrass had much higher germination rates than switchgrass in saline and sodic conditions.

Three prairie cordgrasses and one switchgrass produced similar amounts of biomass under high-salt conditions. However, they produced significantly less biomass than they produced under normal conditions. Researchers test these accessions outside the greenhouse. Preliminary field research has shown that prairie cordgrass is very successful in salt-affected areas.

More research and agronomic improvements are needed before prairie cordgrass can be recommended as a biomass crop. However, there is a lot of potential in the species.