Investigation on the feasibility of cultivation, establishment and forage quality of four halophytes in Arak Meyghan playa, Iran

Range improvement in saline rangelands is considered as one of the most important priorities. The first step in this process is the identification of suitable plant species, with emphasis on native species having suitable establishment, growth capacity and forage production under field conditions. Therefore, in this study, the compatibility of four plant species was studied in Meyghan playa of Arak. The research was carried out in a complete randomized block design with four replications, for three years (2008-2010). The study area has a mean annual rainfall of 327 mm. The soil texture is silty-clay-loam, with an electric conductivity ranged between 2.1- 7.1 dS/m and a pH of around eight. Groundwater table level was over three meters. The seedlings were cultivated with a distance of 2.5 meter from each other in mid November. The establishment of seedlings, canopy cover percentage, vitality, forage production, and palatability were measured. Results showed that all species were successfully established. Significant difference was found for the canopy cover, vitality, palatability and forage production of species. The highest and the lowest canopy cover percentage were recorded for Atriplex canescens and Atriplex leucoclada, respectively. Halimion verrucifera and A.canescens, respectively, showed the maximum forage production and maximum vitality.. According to the results of palatability, a significant difference was found for forage, i ntake so that the highest and the lowest forage intake were recorded for H. verrucifera and Camphorosma monspeliacum, respectively. Overall, H. verrucifera, a native plant species in the study area, showed the superior palatability and more forage production as compared to other species. Therefore, the cultivation of this species in this area is recommended.