The terrestrial halophyte, Salicornia bigelovii Torr., was evaluated as an oilseed crop for direct seawater irrigation during 6 years of field trials in an extreme coastal desert environment. Yields of seed and biomass equated or exceeded freshwater oilseed crops such as soybean and sunflower. The seed contained 26 to 33 percent oil, 31 percent protein, and was low in fiber and ash (5 to 7 percent). The oil and meal were extracted by normal milling equipment, and the oil was high in linoleic acid (73 to 75 percent) and could replace soybean oil in chicken diets. The meal had antigrowth factors, attributed to saponins, but could replace soybean meal in chicken diets amended with the saponin antagonist, cholesterol. Salicornia bigelovii appears to be a potentially valuable new oilseed crop for subtropical coastal deserts.

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The relationship between Na''^ accumulation and salt tolerance was tested by comparing subspecies of the halophyte, Atriptex canescens (fourwing saltbush), that differed markedly in Na^ content and Na:K ratios. Above ground tissues of one low-sodium and two high-sodium subspecies were compared with respect to cation accumulation, osmotic adjustment and growth along a salinity gradient in greenhouse trials. Plants of each subspecies were grown for 80 d on 2-2, 180, 540 and 720mol m~^ NaCL At harvest, A. canescens ssp. canescens had significantly lower Nal evels, higher K^ levels and lower Na:K ratios in leaf and stem tissues than A. canescens ssp. macropoda and linearis over the salinity range (P < 0-05 or 0-01), Na:K ratios in leaves of the latter two, high-sodium, subspecies were approximately 2 on the lowest salinity treatment and ranged from 5 to 10 on the more saline solutions. By contrast, Na:K ratios in leaves of the low-sodium subspecies canescens, were only 0-4 on the lowest salinity and ranged narrowly from 1 -7 to 2-3 at higher salinities. However, despite different patterns of Na''^ and K^ accumulation, all three subspecies exhibited equally high salt tolerance and had similar osmotic pressures in their leaves or stems over the salinity range. Contrary to expectations, high salt tolerance was not necessarily dependent on high levels of Na^ accumulation in this species.

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