Liqiu Jiang

The accelerating development of the forage industry and the land resources finiteness require the high-efficient forage cropping strategies. To investigate the nutritive quality of the mixed forage crop cultivation, a three-round field test of two double-cropping systems (DCSs) based on maize (Dongdan 60 and Dongdan 1331) and sorghum (1230 and cfsh30) as the summer forage crop and alfalfa as the preceding winter forage crop were compared. This study investigated the impact on nutritive value and silage fermentation quality. The M-A system (alfalfa following a preceding crop of maize) outperformed the S-A system (alfalfa following a preceding crop of sorghum) in silage fermentation quality (by 2.81 of M and 2.22 of A), crude ash (by 0.94% of M and 3.5% of A), phosphorus content (by 0.1% of M and 0.17% of A), and potassium content (by 0.47% of M and 0.41% of A). Within the M-A, the maize Dongdan 60 (M1)–alfalfa WL525 (A) combination under the suitable sowing condition (D1) achieved the best nutritive quality exhibiting, not only the highest Flieg score (88.17 of M1 and 92.5 of A) but also the highest crude ash content (6.71% of M1 and 11.82% of A), phosphorus content (0.38% of M1 and 0.48% of A), and potassium content (1.68% of M1 and 1.55% of A). Delayed sowing reduced nutrient accumulation and altered fermentation profiles, highlighting the importance of timely sowing. The study revealed that the double-cropping rotation of maize and alfalfa is a promising strategy to optimize nutritive quality.

Forage crops can be grown in mixed species cultivation to provide productivity and nutritional benefits. In a three-round field test, two double-cropping systems (DCSs) based on maize and sorghum as the summer forage crop and alfalfa as the preceding winter forage crop were compared. There were comparisons of harvesting and growing time, nutritive value, as well as biomass and nutritional yields. The superiority of the M–A (alfalfa following a preceding crop of maize) was identified as compared with the S–A (alfalfa following a preceding crop of sorghum). Within the M–A, the maize Dongdan 60 (M1)–alfalfa WL525 (A) combination under the late sowing condition (D3) achieved the highest annual biomass production (fresh weight and dry weight). The maize/alfalfa combination achieved significantly higher nutritional yields compared to those of the sorghum/alfalfa combination. The highest yield of crude protein was obtained in the late sowing (D3) condition for the maize Dongdan 60 (M1)–alfalfa WL525 (A) combination. The highest yield of starch was obtained in the earliest sowing date (D1) in the maize Dongdan 60 (M1)–alfalfa WL525 (A) combination. The highest yield of crude fat was obtained in the latest sowing date (D3) in the maize Dongdan 1331 (M2)–alfalfa WL525 (A) combination. The study indicated that the winter alfalfa and maize DCS could be a promising strategy to achieve high biomass and nutritional productivity.

The successful screening and evaluation of salt-tolerant germplasm at the germination and seedling stages is of great importance for promoting the breeding of wheat varieties with salt tolerance. In this study, 70 wheat varieties bred in different regions were evaluated for salt tolerance through hydroponic exposure to different concentrations of salt. The relative water absorption, water absorption rate, dehiscence rate, germination rate, and germination index of seeds, and plant height, root length, stem diameter, and biomass of seedlings were determined at the germination and seedling stages of wheat, and the salt tolerance was identified and evaluated using multivariate statistical analysis. The germination ability and seedling growth potential of wheat germplasms decreased with the aggravation of salt stress. Based on the comprehensive salt tolerance index at the germination stage, our study identified 35 varieties to be salt-tolerant. There were nine varieties further screened for having strong salt tolerance according to the comprehensive salt tolerance index at the germination and seedling stages. SN41, Emam, YN301, and JM262 were superior in salt-tolerance, and YM39, LM30, JM60, YN999, and SD29 were salt-tolerant. Our study suggests that the biomass of seedlings can be used as a key parameter for assessing wheat germplasm’s ability to withstand salt. Our results can provide some basic materials for cultivating new germplasm with salt tolerance and excavating the related genes of wheat.