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Functional Plant Biology Functional Plant Biology Society
Plant function and evolutionary biology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Changes in morphological traits associated with waterlogging, salinity and saline waterlogging in Festuca arundinacea

Federico Emanuel Menon-Martínez A B , Agustín Alberto Grimoldi https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7075-1879 A B , Gustavo Gabriel Striker https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6395-6734 A C D and Carla Estefania Di Bella https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7641-3288 A B *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A IFEVA, Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Facultad de Agronomía, Av. San Martín 4453, Buenos Aires C1417DSE, Argentina.

B Cátedra de Forrajicultura, Departamento de Producción Animal, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

C Cátedra de Fisiología Vegetal, Departamento Biología Aplicada y Alimentos, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

D School of Agriculture and Environment, Faculty of Science, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.

* Correspondence to: dibella@agro.uba.ar

Handling Editor: Juan Jiménez

Functional Plant Biology 51, FP23140 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP23140
Submitted: 6 July 2023  Accepted: 9 November 2023  Published: 1 December 2023

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Rising incidences of waterlogging and salinity, particularly in extensive livestock farming areas, pose increasing challenges to plant growth. This study investigated the morphological growth responses and tolerance of 39 Festuca arundinacea accessions to these stresses, with tolerance quantified by the relative growth rate under stress versus control conditions. Notably, more productive accessions under normal conditions also showed greater stress tolerance. Waterlogging was generally well-tolerated (89–113% of control relative growth rate), without significantly altering growth morphological components as increases in specific leaf area were offset by reductions in leaf weight ratio, maintaining stable leaf area ratios. Conversely, salinity and combined saline waterlogging significantly reduced relative growth rate (56–94% of control), with a substantial variation among accessions. A decrease in specific leaf area, suggestive of thicker leaves, correlated with higher tolerance to salinity and saline waterlogging (r = 0.63). In summary, F. arundinacea displays diverse tolerance to these stresses, warranting further study into the adaptive mechanisms. Specific leaf area emerges as a potential selection marker for breeding programs targeting saline and waterlogging tolerance.

Keywords: allocation, combined stress, forage grass, plant breeding, RGR components, salinity, specific leaf area, stress tolerance, tall fescue, waterlogging.

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