Saline soils negatively affect plant growth, so there is a need to dev
elop salt tolerant plant materials for rangeland uses. Five strawberry
clover (Trifolium fragiferum L.) cultivars were compared to 95 plant
introductions for tolerance to salinity during germination and greenho
use seedling growth. Mean tolerance of the cultivars to NaCl during ge
rmination did not differ significantly (p > 0.05) from that of the int
roductions. Individual plant introduction accessions were superior to
each of the cultivars in tolerance to NaCl during germination. Mean sh
oot dry weight, shoot height, and number of shoot branches of the cult
ivars were greater (p < 0.05) than those of the plant introductions in
both the control and saline irrigation treatments. Mean cultivar plan
t tolerance to salinity, as indicated by saline/control treatment rati
os for shoot dry weight, shoot height, and number of branches, was not
superior to that of the plant introductions. Germination tolerance to
salinity was not correlated with plant growth in either saline or non
-saline irrigation treatments. Ample genetic diversity is present with
in strawberry clover to permit development of cultivars with superior
tolerance to salinity during seed germination. It will be more difficu
lt to develop cultivars with superior plant growth in both saline and
non-saline environments.