Abstract

A three year's field experiment was carried out on newly reclaimed tidal saline soils to evaluate the salt tolerance and growht characteristics, and their relationship to dry matter production and nutrient quality of main selected pasture species. Nine temperate grasses (14 varieties) and two forage crops (sorghum and pearl millet) were grown under different mulching treatments with medium sand and red-yellow soils (fine loamy materials of Typic Hapludults) from 1986 to 1988. Tall wheatgrass, tall fescue, reed canarygrass and alfalfa showed a good tolerance to soil salinity, especially tall wheatgrass (cv. Alkar) produced 19.6 ton/ha dry matter yield annualy under mulching treatment with medium sand depth in lcm. Pearl millet (cv. Gahi-3) was also evaluated as a salt tolerable forage species. Under salt stress in newly reclaimed tidal lands, plant showed a decrease in the assimirable leaf area (LA) as well as specific leaf area (SP. LA) and a low leaf weight ratio(LWR), and it resulted in a low concentration of crude protein and low digestible dry matter contents. Absorption of macro and micro elements in the plant on tidal lands was increased markedly.

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