Welcome to Acta Prataculturae Sinica ! Today is

Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (6): 49-59.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2025242

Previous Articles     Next Articles

Comprehensive evaluation of the salt tolerance of diverse oat germplasm at the seedling stage

Shao-yan YUAN1(), Yuan-kun LIU1, Shi-jie CAI1, Ting-xin LEI1, Ping-ping ZHOU1,2, Jun-zhen WANG3(), Hong-hai YAN1()   

  1. 1.College of Agronomy and Biotechnology,Yunnan Agricultural University,Kunming 650201,China
    2.Pratacultural College,Gansu Agricultural University,Lanzhou 730070,China
    3.Research Station of Alpine Crop,Xichang Institute of Agricultural Sciences,Xichang 615000,China
  • Received:2025-06-19 Revised:2025-08-08 Online:2026-06-20 Published:2026-04-13
  • Contact: Jun-zhen WANG,Hong-hai YAN

Abstract:

Oat (Avena sativa) is an important forage crop worldwide, and it plays a critical role in alleviating the forage shortage in northern China. Identifying salt-tolerant germplasm and using it to develop salt-tolerant varieties are essential for enhancing China’s forage supply through oat production on saline-alkali land. To evaluate the salinity tolerance of oat germplasm lines, a diverse set of 213 oat accessions sourced from 52 countries was subjected to 150 mmol·L-1 salt stress treatment at the seedling stage for 7 days. Six growth indexes, namely root length, seedling height, root fresh weight, seedling fresh weight, root dry weight, and seedling dry weight, were measured. A comprehensive evaluation of salt tolerance was conducted using correlation analysis, principal component analysis, membership function analysis, and cluster analysis. The results show that all growth indexes except for seedling dry weight were significantly reduced by salt stress (P<0.05). The values of these growth indexes differed markedly among the salt-treated oat germplasm lines. The coefficient of variation for the salt tolerance coefficient ranged from 12.21% to 30.74%, indicating considerable diversity in this oat germplasm. We detected a significant positive correlation between the growth indexes and the multivariate evaluation value (D value). Through principal component analysis, the six evaluation indexes were consolidated into three multi-trait indexes with a cumulative variance contribution of 84.14%. Root and seedling weights were identified as the preferred indicators for screening salt tolerance at the seedling stage. The membership function analysis combined with cluster analysis grouped the 213 oat accessions into five classes. Two oat landraces originating from Portugal and Turkey had the highest D values, and were identified as highly salt tolerant germplasm resources. These germplasm materials represent valuable resources for oat cultivation in saline-alkali soils and for breeding new salt-tolerant oat cultivars. There was no significant difference in salt tolerance between oat cultivars and landraces, suggesting that salt tolerance has not been a primary breeding target for oats. This highlights the need for focused efforts towards breeding salt-tolerant oat varieties. Overall, the results of this study provide a robust framework for screening salt-tolerant oat germplasm materials and identify promising accessions for genetic improvement and cultivation in salinity-affected regions.

Key words: Avena sativa, salt tolerance, seedling stage, germplasm resources, comprehensive evaluation