Abstract:

To address the problems of cold and arid conditions, severe soil salinization, and the shortage of high-quality forage varieties in the saline-alkali soils of the Qaidam region, this study selected 13 domestic and foreign forage oat varieties as experimental materials. Field experiments were conducted to systematically evaluate their growth performance, fresh and hay yields, and nutritional quality. Principal component analysis and grey relational analysis were employed to comprehensively assess their adaptability. The results showed that significant differences were observed among varieties in plant height (85.20-155.20 cm), stem diameter (3.84-6.40 mm), leaf area (21.56-89.23 cm²), and tiller number (P<0.05). Fresh yield ranged from 1.28 to 6.23 kg/m², and hay yield ranged from 0.33 to 1.38 kg/m², with ‘Heimeike’ showing significantly higher yields than other varieties (P<0.05). In terms of nutritional quality, crude protein content ranged from 7.30% to 13.01%, and relative feed value (RFV) ranged from 84.08 to 126.64. ‘Linna’ exhibited the highest RFV but relatively low yield. Comprehensive evaluation indicated that ‘Heimeike’ had the highest weighted relevance degree, suggesting the strongest adaptability, high yield and good quality balance. Therefore, ‘Heimeike’ is suitable for cultivation in the saline-alkali soils of the Qaidam region. Future studies should focus on multi-year and multi-location trials, as well as physiological and molecular mechanisms of salt tolerance, to further improve the regional oat cultivation system.

Key words: Qaidam saline-alkali land, forage oat, variety selection, growth performance, hay yield, nutritional quality, principal component analysis, grey relational analysis, adaptability evaluation