The euhalophyte species Salicornia europaea is cultivated for oilseed and as a fodder crop in various parts of the world. In saline coastal environments it possesses great potential for the subsistence of the most disadvantaged farmers. We investigated the effect of salinity levels in irrigation water on the germination capacity, shoot biomass and seed productivity as well as diverse quality traits (nitrogen content in shoots and seeds and fatty acids, in seeds) and physiological traits (stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes and ion content) of two accessions collected in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The three salinity levels tested were irrigation with fresh water (0.3 dS m⁻¹), brackish water (25 dS m⁻¹) and sea water (40 dS m⁻¹). In addition, a hypersaline condition (80 dS m⁻¹) was also tested for germination. The best germination rates were achieved with seeds exposed to fresh and brackish water, while imbibition with sea water decreased germination by half and hypersaline water inhibited it almost totally. However, the best irrigation regime in terms of biomass and seed yield involved brackish water. Moreover, rising salinity in the irrigation increased the stable isotope composition of carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N), together with the Na⁺ and K⁺ of shoots and seeds, and the lipid levels of seeds, while the total nitrogen content and the profile of major fatty acids of seeds did not change. Differences between the two ecotypes existed for growth and seed yield with the best ecotype exhibiting lower δ¹³C and higher K⁺ in both shoots and seeds, lower Na⁺ and higher δ¹⁵N in shoots, and lower N in seeds, together with differences in major fatty acids. Physiological mechanisms behind the response to irrigation salinity and the ecotypic differences are discussed in terms of photosynthetic carbon and nitrogen metabolism.

真盐类植物Salicornia europaea在世界各地被种植作为油料种子和饲料作物。在沿海盐碱化的环境中，它为最弱势农民的生存提供了巨大潜力。我们调查了灌溉水中盐度水平对发芽能力，枝条生物量和种子生产力以及各种品质性状（枝条和种子中的氮含量以及种子中的脂肪酸）和生理性状（稳定的碳和氮同位素和氮素）的影响。离子含量）在阿拉伯联合酋长国（UAE）中收集的两个种质。测试的三个盐度水平分别是用淡水（0.3 dS m ^-1），微咸水（25 dS m ^-1）和海水（40 dS m ^-1）灌溉）。此外，还测试了高盐条件（80 dS m ^-1）的发芽率。种子接触淡淡和微咸水可获得最佳发芽率，而海水吸收则使发芽减少一半，而高盐度水几乎完全抑制发芽。但是，就生物量和种子产量而言，最佳灌溉制度是微咸水。此外，在灌溉盐度上升增加的碳的稳定同位素组合物（δ ¹³ C）和氮（δ ¹⁵ N），与钠一起⁺和K ⁺种子和芽的水平以及种子的脂质水平，而种子中的总氮含量和主要脂肪酸的分布没有变化。两个生态型之间的差异存在用于生长和具有最佳生态型显示较低δ种子产量¹³ C和较高的K ⁺两者枝条和籽，降低的Na ⁺和更高的δ ¹⁵与差N的枝条，并且在种子中降低N，一起在主要脂肪酸中。根据光合碳和氮的代谢，讨论了对灌溉盐度和生态型差异的响应背后的生理机制。