Saltbush might become a valuable part of grazing vegetation in difficult soil conditions.
In most parts of the world where there is saltland, saltbush shrub species are an important forage for browsing livestock.
Saltbush has been grazed for centuries both as native and artificially established stands.
Planting saltbush appears to be a good way to rehabilitate degraded sites and restore them to production.
Many producers consider revegetated saltland by saltbush as a valuable fall forage reserve that retains its nutritional value. On the Prairies, the local species of saltbush are atriplex nuttallii and atriplex gardneri, also called nuttall saltbush or gardeners saltbush.
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It is a perennial native dryland shrub found from British Columbia to Manitoba and on the northern Great Plains in the United States.
A sampling of rangelands within Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration community pastures and Grasslands National Park in southern Saskatchewan indicates the most productive saltbush shrubs are found on south-facing slopes in sandy soils with cobble stones in association with blue grama grass.
While it has been known for many years that saltbushes will grow under harsh conditions and colonize saltland if properly managed, little research has been done on the plant’s forage value.
In southwestern Saskatchewan, saltbush plants have higher protein and phosphorus content than native grasses between August and December.
Saltbush is generally tolerant to almost any soil texture but is usually found in medium to fine-textured, saline-alkaline soils.
It is useful for the revegetation of erosive, dry, saline-alkaline soils. It can even be grown on clay soils with high salt and sodium contents.
The shrub generally grows between the 600 and 2,500 metre elevation and it can withstand annual precipitation as low as 12 centimetres.
Research continues within several projects at the Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre in Swift Current, Sask.
Mixes with legumes are being studied for sustainable forage production with support from the Beef Development Fund and Agriculture Canada’s matching investment initiative.
