Abstract

This research was conducted to investigate potential use of New Zealand spinach (Tetragonia tetragonoides) as a new vegetable crop which will be cultivating in salt-affected soils including reclaimed land. Traditionally New Zealand spinach has been studied to explore functional compound or salt removing potential. To cultivate the crop species in the salt-affected soil widely, it is essential to obtain salt and soil texture responses under the controlled environment. Fifty nine New Zealand spinach ecotypes native to Korean peninsula first collected over seashore areas, and primitive habitat soil environment was evaluated by analyzing soil chemical properties from 32 locations. Different textures of sandy, silt loam, and sandy loam soils were prepared from nearby sources of sea shore, upland and paddy soils, respectively. Target salinity levels of 16.0 dS/m, 27.5 dS/m, 39.9 dS/m, and 52.4 dS/m in electrical conductivity (ECw) were achieved by diluting of 25, 50, 75, 100% (v/v) sea water to tap water (control, 0.6 dS/m), respectively. Various measurements responding to soil texture and irrigation salinity included plant height, root length, fresh weight (FW), dry weight (DW), leaf parameters (leaf number, leaf length, leaf width), lateral branching, and inorganic ion content. was found to adapt to diverse habitats ranging various soil chemical properties including soil pH, organic matter, exchangeable bases, EC, and cation exchange capacity (CEC) in Korea. Responding to soil texture, New Zealand spinach grew better in silt loam and sandy loam soil than in sandy soil. Higher yield (FW and DW) seemed to be associated with branch number (r=0.99 and 0.99, respectively), followed by plant height (r=0.94 and 0.97, respectively) and leaf number (r=0.89 and 0.84, respectively). Plant height, FW, and DW of the New Zealand spinach accessions were decreased with increasing irrigation salinity, while root length was not significantly different compared to control. Based on previous report, more narrow spectrum of salinity range (up to 16 dS/m) needs to be further studied in order to obtain more accurate salinity responses of the plant. As expected, leaf Na content was increased significantly with increasing salinity, while K and Ca contents decreased. Growth responses to soil texture and irrigation salinity implied the potential use of New Zealand spinach as a leafy vegetable in salt-affected soil constructed with silt loam or sandy loam soils.

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