Salt Tolerance in Plants
Salt Tolerance in Plants is how well a plant can grow when there is salt in its water.
Picture two glass jars of salty water, each with small dots of salt mixed through. A salt-tolerant plant in one jar stays upright and green. A salt-sensitive plant in the other jar droops, because the salt pulls water out of its roots instead of letting water in.
Explaining salt tolerance in plants by grade level
Some plants get sick when you water them with salty water. Too much salt makes it hard for roots to drink. The leaves turn brown and dry out. Plants that live near the sea handle salt better than others.
Projects that explore salt tolerance in plants
Salt added to water can hurt plants, and more salt means more harm. When plants received plain water, they showed no harmful effects. The highest concentrations — six and eight ounces of salt — caused the most damage as the salt built up in the soil over time.
This project divides 15 bamboo plants into three groups and waters them with tap water, one dose of sea water, or sea water every day. Even one dose of sea water slowed bamboo growth. The group watered with sea water every day wilted and died.