Date of Award:

5-2013

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Plants, Soils, and Climate

Committee Chair(s)

Roger K. Kjelgren

Committee

Roger K. Kjelgren

Committee

David Hole

Committee

Heidi Kratsch

Abstract

Eriogonum corymbosum (Lacy Buckwheat) is an attractive subshrub species native to low rainfall areas of the Colorado Plateau and suitable for low water landscapes in the Intermountain West (IMW). Low water use landscapes can contribute to water conservation in arid climates; developing a palette of plants that are both attractive and drought tolerant can promote the acceptance of low water use landscapes as an alternative to the traditional bluegrass landscapes of the IMW. In 2007 a strip plot design containing four repetitions with four randomly assigned plants each of Eriogonum corymbosum, Eriogonum thompsoniae, and the control species Cornus sericea ‘Kelseyi’ was established to determine E. corymbosum tolerance to frequent irrigation. Two water treatments were assigned to the repetitions for each species. One treatment was watered by a drip irrigation system with sixteen liters of water every three days; the other treatment was not watered. Stomatal conductance (Gs) and water potential were assessed weekly for each species from June through August for the years 2009 and 2010. In 2009 and 2010 both Eriogonum accessions showed no significant difference with the water treatment/accession interaction. Neither E. corymbosum accession exhibited differences in stomatal conductance or water potential between the wet and dry treatments for the length of study season over both years. Cornus sericea ‘Kelseyi’ showed less ability to withstand the prolonged frequencies without irrigation.

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