Propagation guide for Salicornia s. l. (Amaranthaceae, Magnoliophyta): A review focused on North American species

Abstract

Salicornia is a genus of species with high salt-tolerance (i.e. halophytes), and the most prominent edible plants for Saline Agriculture, Marine Aquaculture and both combined (IAAS – Integrated Agri-Aquaculture systems). They can be part of the coastal vegetation (e.g. salt marsh and mangroves), and as they are distributed in the interface between water and land, being a novel range of products to be included in Marine Aquaculture. In some places, their presence in nature can be in danger for diverse reasons. One of the bottlenecks for Salicornia production is the nursery stage, which was never fully explained as other sectors of Marine Aquaculture. In New England, there are three species of Salicornia (Salicornia ambigua, Salicornia bigelovii and Salicornia depressa) recorded more than a century ago. Since then, little progress has been made to establish protocols to propagate these species that are important for ecological and commercial purposes. Our aim was to synthesize all the nursery steps for controlled production of three Salicornia species, and it can also be adapted to other species.