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Abstract
Oat is widely used as a food source in human and animal diets. In China, supplementary cultivation of oat has recently been extended into marginal saline soils, due to its extensive use. The goal of the present study was to explore and compare the agronomic characteristics, biomass production, and distribution of oat in coastal saline soil. A single-factor randomized block design experiment with six naked and husked oat varieties [Bayou-1 (BU-1), Baiyan-2 (BY-2), Baiyan-7 (BY-7), Huawan-6 (HW-6), Huazao-2 (HZ-2), and Pin-16 (P-16)] as treatments was conducted in the Hebei Province of China. The growth period (77 to 88 days) of the six oat varieties were shorter in saline soil than their original breeding region. Moreover, the plant was shorter, with a lower grain number per plant and seed setting. Grain weight increased and no change was observed in the floret number in coastal saline soil relative to the original habitats. The BY-7 variety produced the highest biomass value of 7.0 t ha−1 compared to the other five varieties. Compared with two active growth points, most varieties in the present study showed just one growth activity point between elongation and heading. Two fast growth periods for the six oat varieties were due to the high total leaf biomass growth rate (BGR) from elongation to heading and panicle BGR from heading to maturity. The biomass growth ratio (BGO) during elongation to heading was the largest among the four growth stages of the oat varieties. The number of kernels per spike decreased at the research site, but grain weight increased. Substantial differences were observed for growth periods, biomass, BGR, BGO, and other agronomic characters in the coastal saline soil of North China, but the BY-7 variety was the most suitable variety for the study site.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Professor Chang Z. Ren and Mr. Xin Z. Zhang for providing the oat seeds. We also thank Miss Feng J. Ma, Li Xu, and Mr. Jing P. Qi for their assistance in field data collection.