Scirpus littoralis Schrab and Typha orientalis C. Presl are cultivated in the paddy field and in the shrimp pond in the Mekong Delta of Viet Nam for human food and providing habitat for shrimp, respectively. They are recognized as phytoremediator in brackish shrimp aquaculture wastewater treatment system. | Vietnam Journal of Science and Technology 56 (2C) (2018) 9-15 SCREENING SALT-TOLERANT PLANTS FOR PHYTOREMEDIATION: EFFECT OF SALINITY ON GROWTH AND MINERAL NUTRIENT COMPOSITION Ngo Thuy Diem Trang1, *, Vo Chi Linh1, Nguyen Hoang Minh Huu1, Nguyen Chau Thanh Tung2, Nguyen Xuan Loc1, Hans Brix3 1 College of the Environment & Natural Resources, Can Tho University, Can Tho City, Viet Nam 2 College of Agriculture & Applied Biology, Can Tho University, Can Tho City, Viet Nam 3 Aarhus University, Ole Worms Allé 1, Building 1135, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark * Email: ntdtrang@ Received: 10 May 2018; Accepted for publication: 20 August 2018 ABSTRACT Scirpus littoralis Schrab and Typha orientalis C. Presl are cultivated in the paddy field and in the shrimp pond in the Mekong Delta of Viet Nam for human food and providing habitat for shrimp, respectively. They are recognized as phytoremediator in brackish shrimp aquaculture wastewater treatment system. However, information on effects of NaCl on plant growth and mineral concentrations of the two species is limited. Therefore, the present study was carried out to identify salt-tolerance between the two species. Six NaCl salinity concentrations (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 ‰) and two plant species were arranged in a completely randomized factorial design with three replications. The plants were supplied full strength Hoagland’s solution as growth condition with an increment of NaCl 5 ‰ weekly for 6 weeks. T. orientalis had 65 % mortality at the high NaCl level of 20-30 ‰ while 100 % S. littoralis plant survived with only young shoots remained green. Fresh weight of T. orientalis at the 0 ‰ was g FW/plant higher than those at the 20-30 ‰ ( g FW/plant, respectively) leading to the same pattern in dry weight. The amount of Na+ accumulated in the shoots of T. orientalis at 30 ‰ ( mg/g) higher than those at 0-5 ‰ ( mg Na+/g). S. littoralis had a lower Na+ content in the shoots ( mg Na+/g) than that of
