Soil salinity is major threat to crop growth and reducing cultivated land areas and salt-resistant crops have been required to sustain agriculture in salinized areas. This original research was performed to determine the effectiveness of MgSO₄ (MS) and CaSO₄ (CS) for each species and assess changes in the physiology and growth of fodder crops after short and long-term salt stress. Six treatments (CON (control); NaCl (NaCl 100 mM); 1 MS (1 mM MgSO₄ + 100 mM NaCl); 2 MS (2 mM MgSO₄ + 100 mM NaCl); 7.5 CS (7.5 mM CaSO₄ + 100 mM NaCl); and 10 CS (10 mM CaSO₄ + 100 mM NaCl)) were applied to Red clover (Trifolium pratense) and Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) under greenhouse conditions. Cultivars were evaluated based on their dry weights, physiological parameters, forage quality, and ion concentrations. The biomass of both species decreased significantly under NaCl treatments and increased under the MS and CS treatments compared to solely salinity treatments. Salinity caused a decrease in the photosynthetic rate, but compared to CON, the MS and CS treatments yielded superior results. Moreover, the Na⁺/K⁺ ratio increased as Na⁺ concentration increased but crop quality (CP, NDF, ADF) did not show significant differences under salinity. Overall, we concluded that these T. pratense and F. arundinacea species demonstrated various responses to salinity, MS, and CS by different physiological and morphological parameters and it turned out to be efficient under salinity stress.

The purpose of this study is to identify the different effects exerted by planting density and nitrogen fertilization on high-salinity reclaimed paddy fields (RPF) and general paddy fields (GPFs), and to find the amount of fertilization and the planting density suitable for the growth of forage rice in each paddy field. Nitrogen fertilization with high-salt and low-salt soils, an untreated control plot, treatment with 200 kg/ha, 300 kg/ha, and 400 kg/ha, and planting densities of 30 cm × 10 cm and 30 cm × 16 cm, growth, and feed values were investigated. In both experimental locations, there was no significant change in the soil due to N treatment, but in the case of RPF, electrical conductivity (EC) decreased significantly from more than 5 dS/m to up to 2.87 dS/m during the yellow ripe stage due to the influence of floods and concentrated precipitation in the fields. In all soils, as both the amount of N treatment and the planting density increased, there was a proportional relationship in which the number of tillers and the dry weight also increased, with the occurrence of lodging also being increased. The dry weight, as expected, was 1.5 times higher at a planting distance of 10 cm, rather than 16 cm. In addition, in both locations, the N treatment led to an increase in the dry weight, but when N treatment reached 400 kg/ha (2.0), the dry weight decreased instead. Moreover, although there was no clear difference in feed value according to N treatment, in RPF, the neutral detergent fiber (NDF) was higher than 60%, the relative feed value (RFV) was less than 98, and the total digestible nutrient (TDN) was also low, confirming that the quality of rice was higher in GPF.

Soil salinity is a key factor to limiting agricultural products throughout the world, especially in arid and semi-arid areas, since it intervenes with plant morpho-physiology, resulting in reduced growth and development, as well as disruption of ion homeostasis. This work examined the effects of salinity stress on the mono-cropping of T. pratense, F. arundinacea, and M. sativa and CaSO₄ and MgSO₄ on the mixed-cropping of T. pratense and F. arundinacea under saline conditions. Plants were assessed by dry weights, physiological parameters (photosynthesis rate, SPAD, SLA), forage quality, and ion concentrations. The biomass of all mono species decreased under salinity, except M. sativa, and mixed cropping was affected less than mono-cropping. The values of the mono-cropping of SPAD were decreased in the long term, and SLA was higher than the control in mixed cropping, with the photosynthesis rate of mono-cropping being higher in medium salinity in the long-term; moreover, CaSO₄ and MgSO₄ enhanced the photosynthesis rate of mixed cropping. Overall, we concluded that M. sativa is tolerant to medium salinity, and mixed cropping plus MgSO₄ and CaSO₄ were efficient under salinity stress.

This study compares the growth of two forage rice cultivars (Oryza sativa L.), Mogwoo and Mogyang, in Midwest reclaimed land (Seongmun Tide Embankment, Korea) for two years to find the most adaptable cultivars and the appropriate harvest time. In the case of high salinity soil, it was confirmed that the influence of precipitation was relatively high on soil condition and crop growth. In Mogyang, plant height and culm length tended to decrease slightly as the precipitation increased. As for the tiller number, Mogyang was higher than Mogwoo, but the leaf area was about 1.5 to 2 times higher in Mogwoo than in Mogyang. In addition, in both cultivars, dry weight increased rapidly during the dough stage, and Mogyang was 1538 and 1815 g/m², respectively, while Mogwoo was 2090 and 2752 g/m², which was significantly higher. Mogyang had a CP of 4.8%, a TDN and RFV of 59.4%, 94.0, respectively, and Mogwoo had a CP of 9.7%, a TDN and RFV of 60.1%, 103.8, respectively, resulting in Mogwoo having higher values, and in particular Mogwoo was found to have better forage quality in the milk stage than in the dough stage. In addition, in terms of soil and climate conditions in Midwest reclaimed land, it was confirmed that the Mogwoo variety was the most suitable compared to Mogyang, and dry weight was higher in the dough stage than in the milk stage, but it was concluded that high forage quality could be obtained by harvesting during the milk stage.

The purpose of this study is to identify the different effects exerted by planting density and nitrogen fertilization on high-salinity Reclaimed Paddy Fields(RPF) and General Paddy Fields(GPF), and to find the amount of fertilization and the planting density suitable for the growth of forage rice in each paddy field. In both experimental locations, there was no significant change in the soil due to N treatment, but in the case of RPF, electrical conductivity(EC) decreased significantly from more than 5dS/m to up to 2.87dS/m during the yellow ripe stage due to the influence of floods and concentrated precipitation on the fields. In all soils, as both the amount of N treatment and the planting density increased, there was a proportional relationship in which the number of tillers and the dry weight also increased, with the occurrence of lodging also being increased. The dry weight, as expected, was 1.5 times higher at a planting distance of 10 cm, rather than 16 cm. In addition, in both locations N treatment led to an increase in the dry weight, but when N treatment reached 400kg/ha (2.0), the dry weight decreased instead. Moreover, although there was no clear difference in feed value according to N treatment, in RPF, neutral detergent fiber(NDF) was higher than 60%, RFV was less than 98, and TDN was also low, confirming that the quality of rice was higher in GPF.

This research was conducted to select the most suitable winter forage crop varieties for silage in reclaimed land located in the Midwest of Korea by investigating the soil environment, crop growth characteristics, dry weight, and forage value according to growth stage. The slightly alkalescent soil was characterized by a pH of 7.41–7.84, by an electrical conductivity (EC) of 1–2.5 dS/m, and by 440–934 mg/kg of available phosphate. Barley showed the highest chlorophyll content in the heading stage and milk stages, while oats and triticale reached the highest content in the milk and dough stage. In both years, triticale achieved the highest leaf area index (LAI), reaching 4.3–4.8. In addition, triticale showed the highest percentage of dry matter and the highest dry weight in the milk stage. Forage value was the best in the heading stage for all cereal crops; however, its quality decreased as the growth stage proceeded. This study suggests cultivating triticale, which showed high adaptability to reclaimed soil and climatic conditions, as well as good growth and dry weight when harvested between the milk and dough stages. These results indicate that triticale can be cultivated all year round in salty soil and these data can be useful to increase forage production in reclaimed soil.