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Vetiver (Vetiveria zizanioides) responses to fertilization and salinity under

irrigation conditions

Article in Journal of Environmental Management · September 2009

DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2009.08.006 · Source: PubMed

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Journal of Environmental Management 91 (2009) 215–221

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Journal of Environmental Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jenvman

Vetiver (Vetiveria zizanioides) responses to fertilization and salinity under

irrigation conditionsq
Menahem Edelstein a, *, Zvi Plaut c, Nativ Dudai b, Meni Ben-Hur c
a
Department of Vegetable Crops, Newe Ya’ar Research Center, ARO, P.O. Box 1021, Ramat Yishay 30-095, Israel
b
Section of Aromatic and Medicinal Plants, Newe Ya’ar Research Center, ARO, P.O. Box 1021, Ramat Yishay 30-095, Israel
c
Institute of Soils, Water and Environmental Sciences, The Volcani Center, ARO, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Vetiver (Vetiveria zizanioides) has not been widely introduced in arid and semi-arid regions where irri-
Received 1 January 2009 gation, fertilization, and salinity are important factors in plant growth. The main objective of this study
Received in revised form was to determine the response of vetiver to fertilization (fertigation) and salinity and their interactions
26 July 2009
under irrigated conditions. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse in 10-L pots. Combined
Accepted 6 August 2009
Available online 25 August 2009
effects of three nutrients concentrations and three salinity levels of electrical conductivity (EC) 1, 3 and
6 dS/m in the irrigation water on growth and transpiration of vetiver plants and the content of different
elements in their foliage were studied. Similar contents of w3.7 g/kg Na, w5.77 g/kg Ca and w2.55 g/kg
Keywords:
Electrical conductivity Mg were found in the foliage of all the plants irrigated with the different fertilizer and salinity levels.
Fertigation Concentrations of 59 mg/L N and 36.1 mg/L K in the irrigation water were sufficient for vetiver plants
Ion content needs at the different salinity levels tested. The salinity threshold (the maximum EC in the soil solution
Nutrient concentration that does not cause a significant yield reduction) for vetiver was between 3 and 6 dS/m. A concentration
Phosphorous of 15.2 mg/L P in the irrigation water was the optimum value for vetiver growth in the three salinity
Salinity levels, resulting in an average content of 5.95 g/kg P in plant foliage. It is suggested that vetiver is
Shoot growth sensitive to excess P (>8.66 g/kg). Increasing EC in the irrigation water to 6 dS/m decreased plant foliage
Transpiration
biomass mainly due to an increase in the osmotic potential of the irrigation water and high Cl
concentration in the foliage.
Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction dislodge when exposed to a strong water flow (Hengchaovanich,

Vetiver (Vetiveria zizanioides) is a perennial tufted plant
belonging to the Gramineae family and Andropogoneae subfamily
(Maffei, 2002). It is widely distributed in many tropical regions,
such as – India, Southeast Asia, Nepal, Pakistan, Polynesia, tropical
Africa, West Indies, and parts of South America (Greenfield, 1988).
Vetiver typically grows in well-drained soils in areas with an annual
rainfall of 1000–2000 mm and with temperatures ranging from 21
to 44.5  C (Maffei, 2002). Vetiver grass has short rhizomes and
a massive, finely structured root system that grows very quickly. It
has been reported to grow to a depth as much as w4 m in the first
year of growth (Truong, 2002). This deep root system makes the
vetiver plant extremely drought tolerant and very difficult to
q Contribution from the Agricultural Research Organization, the Volcani Center,
601/08.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ972 4 953 9515; fax: þ972 4 983 6936.
E-mail addresses: meni@volcani.agri.gov.il (M. Edelstein), nativdud@volcani.
agri.gov.il (N. Dudai), medelst@volcani.agri.gov.il (M. Ben-Hur).
1998; Truong et al., 1995). Likewise, the vetiver plant is also highly
resistant to pests, diseases and fire (Chen, 1999; West et al., 1996).
These unique physical and physiological characteristics of vetiver
give this grass distinct advantage for use in soil and water conser-
vation, rehabilitation, and remediation, waste water treatment, and
in addition is grown for its scented oils in the roots and as fodder for
livestock (Chiu et al., 2006; Klomjek and Nitisoravut, 2005; Lavania
et al., 2004; Maffei, 2002). Details about the potential and versa-
tility of vetiver grass are available at http://vetiver.org.
Surface runoff and erosion contribute widely to land degrada-
tion in many parts of the world due to their effects on water loss
and reduced soil fertility on the one hand, and their intensification
of flooding and surface water pollution risks on the other hand.
Vetiver grass has been used intensively for soil and water conser-
vation purposes and for stabilization of steep slopes (Hengchao-
vanich, 1999; Truong, 2002; Truong and Creighton, 1994; Xie, 1997;
Xia et al., 1999).
Although vetiver is widely cultivated in tropical and sub-
tropical regions, it is not commonly grown in arid and semi-arid
regions, such as the Middle East. Limited studies have been

0301-4797/$ – see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2009.08.006
 Author's personal copy
216 M. Edelstein et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 91 (2009) 215–221
conducted to determine the suitability of vetiver in arid and semi-
arid regions. In a study that tried to develop management prac-
tices for growing vetiver under Mediterranean conditions (Dudai
et al., 2006), it was found that once it was established, vetiver
could survive the dry Mediterranean summer, although rain-fed
plants were much shorter than irrigated ones. Dagar et al. (2004)
found that in semi-arid regions of northern India, that vetiver,
which withstands both high pH and flooded conditions, could
successfully be grown without significant yield reductions on
highly alkaline soils.
In arid and semi-arid regions, rainfall and water resources are
limited and natural soil fertility is poor because of low organic
matter content. Arid soils are also characterized by relatively high
salinity and sodicity (Ben-Hur, 2008). In addition, because of the
shortage of fresh water in theses regions, the use of saline water for
irrigation is a common practice. While vetiver clearly responded to
irrigation under Mediterranean conditions (Dudai et al., 2006), its
nutritional requirements as well as its sensitivity to salinity under
irrigation and fertigation have been much less studied. Likewise,
the interactions between fertilization and salinity and their effects
on vetiver growth are unknown.
Deifel et al. (2006) grew eight perennial grass species in a sand-
culture system and irrigated them with waters dominated by NaCl
with electrical conductivity (EC) values ranging from 1.4 to 38 dS/
m. All the plants in all the salinity treatments in this experiment
were fertilized identically. Vetiver was found to have a moderate
tolerance for salinity. Increasing the EC to 10 dS/m decreased the
fresh foliage biomass by w40% in the 1st harvest and by w50% in
the 2nd harvest. They concluded that this decrease in the foliage
biomass was not due to an accumulation of Na in the plant tissues
or a decrease of Ca uptake by the plants as a result of NaCl increases
in the irrigation water.
Klomjek and Nitisoravut (2005) used eight different plant
species, including vetiver, to remove pollutants from saline
wastewater (mostly NaCl) with EC ranging from 14 to 16 dS/m in
wetlands in Thailand. Vetiver was found to be intolerant of the
salinity conditions that existed in the studied wetland area. In
another study, Xia (2004) used vetiver grass to rehabilitate
a degraded ecosystem of oil shale mined lands located in south
China, a region which has a marine monsoon climate. Soil quality in
the mined land was poor, with strong acidity, low water-holding
capacity, and partial contamination by heavy metals. No irrigation
was applied in this experiment. The vetiver plants had high survival
rates under these oil shale mining conditions, and fertilizer appli-
cations of fishpond sludge and inorganic N:P:K fertilizer applied
prior to cultivating of the plants increased significantly the plants
biomass and tiller number.
Since information on irrigation and fertilization is necessary for
economical crop production in arid and semi-arid regions, one
objective of the present study was to determine the response of
vetiver plant to fertilization (fertigation). A second objective was to
study the effect of salinity on vetiver growth and development, as
the problem of salinity is of prime importance in arid regions. In
addition, the interactions between fertilization and salinity on
vetiver growth were studied.
2. Materials and methods
The experiment was conducted in a heated greenhouse at the
Newe Ya’ar Research Center, ARO in northern Israel. The vetiver
plants used in the present study developed from shoots that had
been obtained by splitting mother plants. Rooted vetiver shoots
were planted on 24 February 2004 in 10-L pots containing Perlite
no. 2 (Agrical, Habonim, Israel), one plant per pot. The combined
effects of nutrients and salinity on growth and development of
vetiver plants were investigated by combining three fertilizer
concentrations with three salinity levels in the irrigation water
under a completely randomized, factorial design, with five
replicates (five pots) for each combination. In the fertilizer
treatments, three concentrations, 1, 2 and 4 mL/L, of liquid
fertilizer ‘‘Shefer 1’’ (Haifa Chemicals LTD, Israel) in the irrigation
water were used, where the weight ratio of N:P2O5:K2O in this
fertilizer was 5:3:8, respectively, and N–NO3 was 68% of the total
inorganic N in the fertilizer. Nutrient concentrations in the irri-
gation water for the 1, 2, and 4 mL/L fertilizer treatments were:
59, 118, and 236 mg/L nitrogen; 7.6, 15.2, and 30.4 mg/L phos-
phorus; and 36.1, 72.2, and 144.4 mg/L potassium, respectively.
The salinity levels in the irrigation water were: (i) fresh water
with EC w1 dS/m and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) of w2.5 (a
common quality of fresh water in arid and semi-arid regions); (ii)
EC 3 dS/m and SAR 4; and (iii) EC 6 dS/m and SAR 4. The latter
two EC values were obtained by adding NaCl þ CaCl2 to the irri-
gation water. In all the salinity treatments, the contribution of
the added fertilizers to the EC and SAR of the waters was not
considered.
The plants were irrigated to excess four times a day, such that
w35% of the irrigation water drained as leachate, thereby removing
excess salt from the pot. Therefore, salinity levels in the root zone in
the different treatments were most likely similar to that of the
irrigation waters. Plant height and the number of sprouts in each
pot were determined at various dates throughout the growing
season. Vetiver height was determined as the length of the longest
leaf in each plant.
Transpiration rates of the plants in some fertilizer and salinity
treatments were determined at four different dates during the
growing season by weighing. For these measurements, the
plants were irrigated at 7:00 o’clock, the upper surface area of
each pot around the plant was covered by aluminum foil, the
pots were left to drain from the excess water for 2 h, and then
weighed. After 5 h of transpiration, each pot was weighed again,
and the transpiration rate was determined by calculating the
differences between the pot weights dividing by the transpira-
tion duration.
The plant foliage in each pot was harvested twice at 2 cm above
the soil surface: on 3 June 2004 and on 7 July, 2004, and then
washed gently in deionized water, dried at 60  C for 48 h, and total
weight was recorded. The dry foliage of the plants of the 2 nd
harvest (7 July, 2004) was ground to 2 mm mesh, and stored
pending chemical analysis. In three of the five replications of each
treatment, the total content of Ca, Mg, Na, N, P, and K, and the
concentrations of soluble Cl and N–NO3 in the plant foliage were
determined. Samples of the dry plant foliage were analyzed for
determining Ca, Mg, Na, N, P, and K by ashing 0.25 g of each sample
in a furnace at 600  C for 5 h. Five mL of 1 M HCl and 5 mL of 1 M
HNO3 were added to the cooled ash, and the solution was filtered
after 15 min and analyzed. The total N and P content in the plant
foliage was determined by wet ashing of 0.1 g of the dry plant
foliage with 2 mL of 1 M H2SO4 at 260  C on hot plate and addition
of several drops of H2O2. The concentrations of soluble Cl and NO 3
in the plant samples were analyzed after aqueous extraction of
0.25 g of dried and ground plant material in 25 mL of distilled
water. Ca and Mg were determined using atomic absorption, the Na
and K using flame spectrophotometer with the appropriate filters
used for each element, the N and P by an auto-analyzer, and the Cl
by chloride meter.
The data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) (SAS
Institute, 1990). Separation of means was subjected to Tukey’s
Honestly Significant Difference test, with a significance level of
0.05. Regression analysis was conducted to identify relationships
between some measured parameters.
 Author's personal copy
M. Edelstein et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 91 (2009) 215–221
3. Results
In order to determine the response of vetiver to fertilization, the
effects of different fertilizer levels in the irrigation water on growth
of the plants were determined. Fresh water with low salinity
(EC w1 dS/m), which is a common quality of fresh water in arid and
semi-arid regions, was used for irrigation. Total dry foliage weight
of vetiver plant for two harvests and the plants height at different
dates for three fertilizer treatments are presented in Figs. 1A,B,
respectively. The 2 mL/L fertilizer treatment, which contained 118,
15.2, and 72.2 mg/L N, P and K, respectively, was the optimal
fertilizer level for obtaining maximum total dry weight of plant
foliage in both harvests (Fig. 1A). No significant differences in plant
height were observed between the 1 and 4 mL/L fertilizer treat-
ments for the 1st harvest or among all three fertilizer treatments
after the 1st harvest (Fig. 1B). Therefore, one regression line was
plotted for the plant height data in the 1 and 4 mL/L fertilizer
treatments before the 1st harvest and another line for the three
fertilizer treatments after the 1st harvest (Fig. 1B). The elongation
rate (the slope of the regression lines) of the longest leaf of the
different plants in the three fertilizer treatments was higher after
the 1st harvest (Fig. 1B). The average slope of the regression lines
before and after the 1st harvest was <1.6 and 3.9 cm/day, respec-
tively. Plant heights for the 2 mL/L fertilizer treatment were
significantly higher than the other two fertilizer treatments from
30 days after planting until the 1st harvest (Fig. 1B). The expo-
nential increase of the plant height in the 1 and 4 mL/L fertilizer
treatments before the 1st harvest (Fig. 1B) indicated that a delay in
the growth of the vetiver plants occurred during the beginning of
the growing season in these two fertilizer treatments.
A 200
A
160
Dry weight, g/plant
120 B A
80
B mediate fertilizer concentration (2 mL/L), which was found as the
40
0 between planting and the 1st harvest (1st growing period) and
0 1 2 3
Fertilizer concentration, mL/L
B 1st harvest
y = 1.61x
160 Fertilizer r 2 = 0.97*
concentration, mL/L
Plant height, cm
120 1
2 and nutrients for foliage development during the 2nd growing
4 period; (ii) plants during the 1st growing period were not yet at the
80
0.02x
y = 25.4e
40 r 2 = 0.98*
0 Number of sprouts per vetiver plant at two measuring dates under irrigation with
0 30 60 90
Days after planting
Fig. 1. Total dry foliage weight of vetiver plants in two harvests as functions of
fertilizer concentration in fresh water irrigation (A) and the height of the plants at
different days after planting for the three fertilizer treatments (B). Different upper and
lower case letters in A indicated statistically significant (at 0.05 level) differences
between the fertilizer concentrations in each sampling date, and between the
sampling dates in each fertilizer concentrations, respectively. Vertical bars in B indicate
standard error.
217
The number of sprouts per plant in two sampling dates under
irrigation with fresh water is shown in Table 1. The maximum
number of sprouts per plant was obtained with the 2 mL/L fertilizer
level for the two sampling dates, when this difference was more
pronounce on 3 June 2004 than on 29 April 2004 (Table 1). More-
over, the number of sprouts on 3 June 2004 was three to four times
higher than on 29 April 2004 for the three fertilizer treatments
(Table 1).
Transpiration rates of whole vetiver plants as a function of
fertilizer concentration in the irrigation of fresh water at different
dates are presented in Fig. 2. The highest transpiration rates per
plant were found at 2 mL/L fertilizer level, and increased sharply
with time (Fig. 2). In contrast, the transpiration rates per plant for
the 1 and 4 mL/L fertilizer treatments were lower and their increase
with time was limited (Fig. 2). These differences in transpiration
rates were most likely a result of the differences in plant foliage
weight (Fig. 1) in the various fertilizer treatments and measuring
dates.
The inhibited growth of the vetiver plants in the 1 mL/L fertilizer
treatment using fresh water irrigation (Figs. 1 and 2 and Table 1)
was presumably a result of a nutrient deficiency that decreased the
foliage biomass growth of the plants. In contrast, the low growth of
the plants in the high fertilizer concentration (4 mL/L) could be
a result of the high EC in the irrigation water caused by the high
concentration of the fertilizers in the water in this treatment. The
average EC of the fresh water in the 1, 2, and 4 mL/L fertilizer
treatments was 1.6, 1.8, and 2.6 dS/m, respectively. However, in
spite of the relatively high EC in the 4 mL/L fertilizer treatment, this
can not be the cause for the reduction of the plant growth in
this treatment (Fig. 1 and Table 1). This is because higher EC than
in the irrigation water of 4 mL/L fertilizer treatment did not
decrease the growth of the vetiver plant as described below.
Another factor that could be the cause for the reduction of the plant
Harvest growth in 4 mL/L fertilizer treatment is a high concentration of
a specific nutrient in the root zone that could be toxic to the plant.
1st
2nd These issues of low and high nutrients concentrations and their
effects on plants growth are discussed in detail below.
B The response of vetiver to salinity was evaluated at the inter-
B optimal fertilizer level (Figs. 1 and 2 and Table 2). The average daily
accumulation of foliage dry weight (the average growing rate)
4 between the 1st and the 2nd harvest (2nd growing period) for
2 mL/L fertilizer treatment are presented in Fig. 3 as functions of the
EC in the irrigation water. Plant growth rate during the 1st growing
2nd harvest period was significantly lower than the 2nd growing period for the
three EC values (Fig. 3). Possible causes for these differences in
growth rates between the two growing periods could be: (i) the
average root system of the vetiver plants were bigger in the 2nd
growing period as compared to the 1st one, supplying more water
y = 3.94x-406.7
r2 = 0.93* Table 1
120 150 fresh water with three fertilizer concentrations.
Measuring date Fertilizer concentration, mL/L
1 2 4
29 April, 2004 8  1.9 Aa* 8.5  1.5 Aa 7  1.1 Aa
3 June, 2004 24.8  2.81 ABb 41.2  4.83 Ab 23  5.67 Bb
*Different upper and lower case letters indicated statistically significant (at 0.05
level) differences between the fertilizer concentrations in each sampling date, and
between the sampling date in each fertilizer concentrations, respectively.
 Author's personal copy

218 M. Edelstein et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 91 (2009) 215–221

160 Measuring date

Growing rate of plant foliage,

Aa
Transpiration rates, g/plant/h

29 April
Aa 1st growing period
11 May 4 Aa
Aa
120 24 May 2nd growing period
3 June

g/plant/day
80 Ab
Ba Ba
Ba Ba 2
Aa Ab Ab
Bab Ab
40 Aa
Bb Bb Bb

0 0
1 2 3 4
Fertilizer concentration, mL/L
Fig. 2. Transpiration rates of whole vetiver plants as a function of fertilizer concen-
tration in fresh water irrigation at different measuring dates. Different upper and lower
case letters indicated statistically significant (at 0.05 level) differences between the
fertilizer concentrations at each measuring date, and between the measuring dates in
each fertilizer concentration, respectively. Vertical bars indicate standard error.
phase of linear growth rate; and (iii) air temperatures during the
2nd growing period (Dudai et al., 2006).
No significant differences were observed in plant growth rate
between an EC of 1 and 3 dS/m in the irrigation water in both
growing periods (Fig. 3). In contrast, an increase of the EC to 6 dS/m
decreased significantly the growth rate in both growing periods.
Mass and Hoffman (1977) defined two main parameters that
describe the sensitivity of the plant to salinity: (i) the salinity
threshold (the maximum EC in the soil solution that does not cause
a significant yield reduction); and (ii) the relative productivity
decrease (yield decrease per unit salinity increase). The results in
Fig. 3 suggest that the salinity threshold value for vetiver is
between 3 and 6 dS/m.
The effect of salinity in the irrigation water on transpiration of
the vetiver plants, when the fertilizer treatment was 2 mL/L is
presented in Fig. 4. At the end of the growing period (3 June 2004),
a significant linear decrease in the transpiration rate (the transpi-
ration of the whole plant during 1 h) occurred with an increase of
EC in the irrigation water (Fig. 4A). In contrast, on the other
measuring dates, the transpiration rate did not differ significantly
when the EC increased from 1 to 3 dS/m, but decreased significantly
when the EC increased to 6 dS/m. (Fig. 4A). A positive correlation
exists, in general, between the transpiration rate of a plant and its
total biomass (e.g., Childs and Hanks, 1975). Hence, the differences
in the transpiration rates of vetiver plants at the various EC values
of irrigation water (Fig. 4A) could be a result of the differences in
the total biomass of these plants. Therefore, in order to determine
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Electrical conductivity of the irrigation water, ds/m
Fig. 3. Average growth rate of plant foliage (average daily accumulation of foliage dry
weight) between planting and 1st harvest (1st growing period) and between 1st and
2nd harvest (2nd growing period) as a function of electrical conductivity (EC) in the
irrigation water for 2 mL/L fertilizer treatment. Different upper and lower case letters
indicated statistically significant (at 0.05 level) differences between the EC values in
the irrigation water in each growing period, and between the growing periods in each
EC, respectively. Vertical bars indicate standard error.
the effect of salinity on the capability of the plant tissues to tran-
spire regardless of the total size of plant foliage, the specific tran-
spiration rate (Ts) should be calculated by dividing the transpiration
rate by the surface area of the plant foliage using Eq. (1).
T
Ts ¼ (1)
SLA,DW
where, T is transpiration rate for the whole plant per unit of time,
SLA is a specific leaf area of the measured plant (the surface area of
the leaves of the whole plant per dry weight unit), and DW is dry
weight of the all leaves.
However, because the SLA could not be measured without
destruction of the plant, the Ts in the present study was estimated
by using Eq. (2).
T
Tes ¼ (2)
Ph Ns
where, Tes is estimated value of the specific transpiration rate, Ph is
the plant height, and Ns is the number of sprouts per plant. It is
assumed that the product Ph $ Ns is positively correlated with the
total surface area of the leaves per plant.
The Tes values of the vetiver plant as a function of the EC in the
irrigation water are presented in Fig. 4B for two measuring dates
and fertilizer treatment of 2 mL/L. The Tes values on 29 April 2004
were significantly higher than on 3 June 2004 for the three EC

Table 2
Total element content of plant foliage irrigated with waters with three electrical conductivity (EC) levels and three fertilizer concentrations.

Fertilizer Total element content of plant foliage

concentrations
Ca Mg Na N K
mL/L g/kg
EC 1 dS/m
1 5.23  0.67 3.07  0.39 4.08  1.35 15.62  1.26 34.29  0.87
2 5.79  0.7 3.12  0.29 3.32  1.17 14.27  2.71 33.54  3.55
4 5.92  3.33 2.77  0.51 3.91  0.53 15.94  2.15 32.54  5.0
EC 3 dS/m
1 4.88  1.67 2.56  0.52 3.15  0.15 14.68  0.86 32.54  2.75
2 5.89  2.09 2.35  0.53 4.00  2.2 14.49  0.86 35.30  3.0
4 5.87  1.61 1.97  0.12 3.91  1.7 15.95  1.48 32.54  0.66
EC 6 dS/m
1 7.01  1.38 2.24  0.14 3.57  1.17 13.84  0.84 30.54  2.18
2 4.99  1.55 2.19  0.28 2.81  0.44 15.09  1.05 31.79  2.15
4 6.40  2.51 2.72  1.05 4.51  0.64 14.37  0.49 34.54  0.75

The numbers follow the  standard error.

 Author's personal copy

M. Edelstein et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 91 (2009) 215–221 219

A Measuring date
A Aa
160 10
Aa 29 April Ba
Transpiration rates, g/plant/h

140 11 May
8

P content, g/kg
120 Aa Aa 24 May Ab
Ab Ca
3 June
100 6 Ab
Bab Ab
80 Abc
Ab 4 Bc
60 Cc
Ba
Ab Ac 2
40 Bab
Cab
20 Ab 0
0
B
B 16 Aa

Cl-concentration, g/kg
Aa
100 ABa
Specific transpiration rate, mg/h

Aa
12 Aa Aa Ab
80 Ba
ABa
Ba
Ba
8
60 Ba
Fertilizer concentration, mL/L
1
40 4
2
Ab Ab 4
20 Ab
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
0 Electrical conductivity of irrigation water, ds/m
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
Electrical conductivity in the irrigation water, ds/m Fig. 5. Average content of P (A) and soluble concentration of Cl (B) in plant foliage as
a function of the electrical conductivity (EC) in the irrigation water for three fertilizer
Fig. 4. Transpiration rate (A) and specific transpiration rate (B) as functions of elec- treatments. Different upper and lower case letters indicated statistically significant (at
trical conductivity (EC) in the irrigation water for 2 mL/L fertilizer treatment and 0.05 level) differences between the EC values in the irrigation water in each fertilizer
different measuring dates. Different upper and lower case letters indicated statistically treatment, and between the fertilizer treatments in each EC, respectively. Vertical bars
significant (at 0.05 level) differences between the EC values in the irrigation water in indicate standard error.
each measuring date, and between the measuring dates in each EC, respectively.
Vertical bars indicate standard error. contrast, significant changes in the P content and soluble Cl
concentration in the plant foliage were found in some of the
treatments (Fig. 5).
values (Fig. 4B). Lower Tes values in the older plants probably
occurred for two major reasons: (i) the overlap between the leaves 4. Discussion
increased as the plants become older, which, in turn, decreased the
leaf surface area that was exposed to transpiration; and (ii) aging The effects of the two parameters, fertilization and salinity, on
leaves in the older plants have a reduced transpiration capability. the growth of vetiver could interact, namely, the response of the
An increase in EC of the irrigation water decreased the Tes values plants to salinity may depend on nutrition, and the salinity could
on 29 April 2004, while no significant effect of the EC in the irri- cause disorders in nutrients absorption by the plant. The total dry
gation water on the Tes values was observed on 3 June 2004 foliage biomass of the vetiver plants as functions of the EC values in
(Fig. 4B). The effects of salinity on plant growth and development the irrigation water for the three fertilizer treatments are presented
could be a result of two main factors (Bresler et al., 1982): (i) an in Fig. 6. Significant effects of some fertilizer treatments on foliage
osmotic factor – increasing the electrolyte concentration in the root biomass were found when the EC of the irrigation water was 1 and
zone enhances the osmotic potential (the absolute value) of the 3 dS/m, but no significant effects were found when the EC was 6 dS/
water, which decrease the water availability to the plant; and (ii) m (Fig. 6). This indicated that there were interactions between
specific ion effects – accumulation of specific ions, Cl and Naþ in
400
particular, which may be toxic to the plant and cause physiological
damage to these tissues, resulting in a reduced transpiration rate. In
Total dry weight, g/plant

the early growing stage of plants, the accumulation of specific ions Aa Aa

300
in their tissues is expected to be low (Munns and Tester 2008), and Ab
therefore, the decrease of Tes with an increase of EC in the irrigation Ab Aa
200
water in 29 April 2004 (Fig. 4B) was mainly a result of the osmotic Ab
Aa
factor. In contrast, in the late growing stage of the plants, the Ab Fertilizer concentration, mL/L
Ba
accumulation of specific ions in the plant tissues could be high 100 1
2
enough to cause damages to the plant and to decrease the capa- 4
bility of the plant tissues to transpire (Munns and Tester, 2008).
0
However, in the late growing stage of the vetiver plants (3 June 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
2004) no significant effect of the salinity on Tes was found (Fig. 4B). Electrical conductivity of the irrigation water, ds/m
The average content of Ca, Mg, Na, N, and K in the foliage plants
for the three fertilizer treatments and three EC levels in the irri- Fig. 6. Total dry foliage biomass of vetiver plants as a function of electrical conduc-
tivity (EC) in the irrigation water for three fertilizer treatments. Different upper and
gation water are presented in Table 2. No significant differences lower case letters indicated statistically significant (at 0.05 level) differences between
were found in the content of all these elements in the plant foliage the EC values in the irrigation water in each fertilizer treatment, and between the
in the different fertilizer and salinity treatments (Table 2). In fertilizer treatments in each EC, respectively. Vertical bars indicate standard error.
 Author's personal copy
220 M. Edelstein et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 91 (2009) 215–221
fertilization and salinity on the growth of vetiver plants. These
interactions between the fertilization and salinity on the vetiver
growth could be a result of differences in absorption and accu-
mulation of the various elements in vetiver plant tissues.
In spite of the increase of Na concentration in irrigation water
from 46 to 140.8 mg/L when the water EC increased from 1 to
6 dS/m, no significant differences in total Na content in plant foliage
were observed (Table 2). This indicated that the root system of the
vetiver plants excluded Na, and consequently, a similar Na content
(w3.7 g/kg) accumulated in the plant foliage regardless of the Na
concentration in the irrigation water. Similar results were found by
Deifel et al. (2006), which indicated that the Na content in vetiver
plant foliage started to increase only when the NaCl salinity in the
irrigation water was above EC w20 dS/m. Moreover, the different
salinity levels and nutrients concentrations in the irrigation waters
had no significant effects on the Ca and Mg contents in the plant
foliage (Table 2).
An increase of N from 59 to 236 mg/L and of K from 36.1 to
144.4 mg/L in the irrigation water did not increase significantly the
total content of theses elements in plant foliage at the three salinity
levels (Table 2). It can be concluded from these results that the
concentrations of N and K in the irrigation water in the lowest
fertilizer treatment (1 mL/L) was sufficient to obtain the desirable
content of these elements in vetiver foliage. This conclusion was
supported by observation that no deficiency symptoms of these
elements were observed in the plant foliage. Moreover, the high
salinity levels in the irrigation water had no significant effects on N
and K absorption by vetiver (Table 2). However, a significant,
negative linear regression (Y ¼ 1.6  0.08X, r2 ¼ 0.6) between
soluble N–NO3 (Y) and soluble Cl (X) concentrations in the plant
foliage was found for all of the fertilizer and salinity treatments.
Nevertheless, this N–NO3 decrease had no effect on the total N
content in the plant foliage (Table 2).
The differences in foliage biomass of vetiver plants in the
various treatments (Fig. 6) could be a result of differences in P and
Cl concentrations (Fig. 5) and total electrolyte concentration in the
irrigation water in the various treatments. In the lowest fertilizer
treatment (1 mL/L), the dry foliage biomass of the vetiver plants
was low for all the saline levels of the irrigation water compared to
the maximum foliage biomass that was observed in the 1 dS/m
irrigation water and 2 mL/L fertilizer treatment (Fig. 6). The low dry
biomass in this fertilizer treatment was likely a result of P defi-
ciency in the irrigation water (Fig. 5A); the total P content in
the plant foliage in this fertilizer treatment ranged from 3.36 to
6.12 g/kg. An increase in EC in the irrigation water from 1 to 6 dS/m
in this fertilizer treatment resulted in a significant decrease of total
P content in the plant foliage (Fig. 5A). However, no significant
decrease in the dry foliage biomass of the vetiver plants was
observed with the increased EC in the irrigation water in this
fertilizer treatment (Fig. 6). These results (Figs. 5A and 6) suggest
that in the 1 mL/L fertilizer treatment, the low P content of 6.12 g/
kg in the plant foliage was the limiting factor that controlled the
production of foliage biomass, and that an increase in salinity in
the irrigation water and a further decrease of P content in the plant
foliage had no significant, additional effect on foliage biomass of the
vetiver plants (Figs. 5A and 6).
In the 2 mL/L fertilizer treatment with an EC of 1 and 3 dS/m in
the irrigation water, the P content in plant foliage was 6.51 and
6.22 g/kg, respectively (Fig. 5A), which was probably the optimum
value. Therefore, at this P level and an EC below the salinity
threshold (EC <3 dS/m), the dry foliage biomass was the highest
(>311 g/plant) (Fig. 6). An increase in EC in the irrigation water
from 3 to 6 dS/m in the 2 mL/L fertilizer treatment did not decrease
significantly the P content in plant foliage (Fig. 5A). Hence, the
significant decrease of dry foliage biomass in this fertilizer
treatment when the EC in the irrigation water increased to 6 dS/m
(Fig. 6) was most likely a result of an increase in the osmotic
potential of the irrigation water and the Cl concentration in the
plant foliage in this treatment (Fig. 5B).
In the 4 mL/L fertilizer treatment with an EC of 1 and 3 dS/m in
the irrigation water, the EC values were below the salinity threshold
for vetiver, and the Cl concentration in the plant foliage was low
(Fig. 5B). Hence, at these EC values, the significantly lower dry
foliage biomass in the 4 mL/L rather than the 2 mL/L fertilizer
treatment (Fig. 6) presumably was due to the high P content
(>8.66 g/kg) in plant foliage in the 4 mL/L fertilizer
treatment (Fig. 5A). These high P contents in the 4 mL/L fertilizer
treatment were, probably, toxic to the plants, and led to a signifi-
cant decrease the foliage biomass in these treatments (Fig. 6).
Phosphorus is a major plant nutrient required for nucleic acid
production. These acids are involved in energy transfer, many
metabolic processes, photosynthesis, and respiration. However,
excess phosphorus concentrations in the plant tissues may have
toxic effects (Shane et al., 2004). P toxicity symptoms include
reduced growth, leaf chlorosis and necrosis (Shane and Lambers,
2006), and increased susceptibility to heat damage resulting in
drying of leaf tips (Hawkins et al., 2007). Groves and Keraitis (1976)
and Handreck (1991) found that P concentrations in the plant
tissues ranging from 1 to 10 g/kg were associated with P toxicity
symptoms in some plant species. A list of plants with potential
tissue P toxicity was published by Shane et al. (2004). The mech-
anism of P toxicity is not well known. Dai et al. (1999) suggested
that P toxicity in tomatoes is related to over expression of hexoki-
nase, photosynthetic, and carbon, and sugar metabolism, resulting
in inhibited growth. Silber et al. (2002) showed that plant P
concentration was highly correlated with hexose phosphate accu-
mulation and toxic symptoms in Verticordia plumose. P toxicity may
also be connected to phosphorus–zinc interactions in the plant
(Parker et al., 1992; Silber et al., 2002). It was shown that high rates
of P uptake by wheat depressed Zn uptake and caused Zn deficiency
(Zhu et al., 2001).
Vetiver is not in the above mentioned list of plants that are
sensitive to P toxicity (Shane et al., 2004), probably because few
studies on vetiver nutrition have been published, and the response
of vetiver to P fertilization is much less known. The P concentra-
tions in the foliage of the vetiver plants in the 4 mL/L fertilizer
treatment (Fig. 5A) are in the range of the P levels in plant leaves
that are sensitive to P toxicity (Parker et al., 1992; Silber et al., 2002;
Shane and Lambers, 2006). These results suggest that vetiver may
be sensitive to excess P. However, it should be noted that the
optimal P concentration in the vetiver foliage was only slightly
lower than the toxic levels (Figs. 5 and 6). Therefore, further study is
needed to clarify this issue.
In the fertilizer treatment of 4 mL/L, an increase in EC of the
irrigation water to 6 dS/m decreased significantly the P content in
the plant foliage to 6.64 g/kg, which was close to the optimum
values that were obtained in the fertilizer treatment of 2 mL/L
(Fig. 5A). However, this increase in EC significantly increased the Cl
concentration in plant foliage to 15.3 g/kg (Fig. 5B). Consequently,
the low foliage biomass in the fertilizer treatment of 4 mL/L and EC
6 dS/m in the irrigation water (Fig. 6) was mainly due to an increase
in osmotic potential of the irrigation water and a ‘specific ion effect’
of high Cl concentration in the plant foliage of this treatment.
5. Summary and conclusions
1. Similar contents of w3.7 g/kg Na, w5.77 g/kg Ca and w2.55
g/kg Mg were found in the foliage of all vetiver plants irrigated
with different fertilizer and salinity levels. This indicated that:
(i) the vetiver root system excludes Na absorption under high
 Author's personal copy
M. Edelstein et al. / Journal of Environmental Management 91 (2009) 215–221
Na concentrations in the irrigation water; and (ii) the different
salinity levels and nutrients concentrations in the irrigation
waters had no significant effects on the Ca and Mg contents in
the plant foliage.
2. Concentrations of 59 mg/L N and 36.1 mg/L K in the irrigation
waters were sufficient for vetiver plants needs at the different
salinity levels, and similar contents of 14.9 g/kg N and 33.1 g/kg
K were found in plant foliage irrigated with the different
fertilizers and salinity levels.
3. Under optimum fertilizer conditions, the salinity threshold for
vetiver was between 3 and 6 dS/m.
4. A concentration of 7.6 mg/L P in the irrigation water was below
the optimum for vetiver growth, and was the limiting factor
that controlled the development of the foliage biomass at the
three salinity levels tested. In this case, the P content in
the plant foliage at the three salinity levels was 6.12 g/kg.
5. A concentration of 15.2 mg/L P in the irrigation water was the
optimum value for vetiver growth in the three salinity levels,
and resulted in an average content of 5.95 g/kg P in plant
foliage. In contrast, a 30.4 mg/L P concentration in the irrigation
water was toxic to plants, and led to a reduction in plant foliage
biomass when the EC of the irrigation water was below the
salinity threshold.
6. In P concentrations of 15.2 mg/L in the irrigation water,
increasing the EC to 6 dS/m caused a reduction in the foliage
biomass of plants. This reduction was mainly a result of an
increase in the osmotic potential of the irrigation water and
high Cl concentration in the foliage plant that led to specific
effects on plants growth.
7. It was suggested that vetiver is sensitive to excess P. However, it
should be noted that the optimal P concentration in the vetiver
foliage was only slightly lower than the toxic levels. This point
should be further studied.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Ms. L. Liab and Mr. H. Tenaw for the labora-
tory works. This work was funded by Cooperative Development
Research Program (CDR/CAR), research No. CA15-011.
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