Abstract: Bioenergy production in arid and semi-arid regions is viewed as being limited due to water resource constraints and potential competition with food production. However, there are crop rotation niches as well as opportunities for utilizing saline soils and water which are not conducive to high value crop production. An exploratory study was thus conducted in a greenhouse for assessing salt tolerance of various oilseed crops during establishment, which is often the critical stage for successful production. Canola (Brassica napus), and safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) were salt-tolerant during germination, but emergence was curtailed owing to soil crusting. Camelina (C. sativa) germinated well, yet emergence was poor, probably due to weak hypocotyl. Field pennycress (Thlaspi arvense) and Lesquerella (L. fendleri) were salt sensitive, and could not germinate in NaCl solutions higher than 50 mM. Salicornia (S. bigelovii), a halophyte, is extremely salt-tolerant once established, but not during seedling emergence. Seedling emergence which had little correlation with salt tolerance of established plants, was constrained not only by salt tolerance at germination and the pattern of salt accumulation at the soil surface, but also by seed size and soil crust development. At the present state of field management capability, safflower and canola are among the most promising oilseed crops for saline areas, and can potentially be grown as a winter rotation crop with a comparatively low water requirement. For the species with small seed, crop improvements towards greater seedling vigor as well as the effective establishment methods have to be developed
