The present study was conducted to analyze agronomic characteristics of 8 ecotypes of Arundinella hirta (A. hirta) and the correlation among them. Changes in phenotypic characteristics of 8 ecotypes were measured at equal intervals of time from May to September. Among ecotypes, Jangsoo-1 has the highest plant height (172.33 cm), number of leaves (9.00) and leaf length (55 cm) while the ecotype Youngduk has the highest leaf width (1.57 cm), fresh mass (26.63 g), dry mass (7.06 g), number of spikelets per spike (53.33), amount of seeds per spike (0.74 g) and amount of seeds per 10 spikes (7.23 g). The ecotype Jinju-1 has the shortest plant height (119 cm) and leaf number (6.33), while Okgye-2 has shortest leaf length (30.67 cm), leaf width (0.93 cm), fresh mass (12.60 g), dry mass (3.30 g), spike length (30.33 cm), spikelet per spike (39.67), amount of seeds per spike (0.61 g) and amount of seeds per 10 spikes (6.00 g). Correlation coefficients were estimated among the studied agronomic characteristics which showed positive and significant association with each other. In the present study, the agronomic data collected would be useful to understand the potential of A. hirta as a forage resource and helpful in selecting the high-yielding genetic resource for future forage improvement.

To understand antioxidant enzyme response of two contrasting Arundinella hirta ecotypes to drought stress, drought-tolerant Youngduk and drought-sensitive Jinju-1, were comparatively analyzed changes in the enzymatic activities of peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione reductase (GR). Two ecotypes, drought-tolerant Youngduk and drought-sensitive Jinju-1 were subjected to drought stress by withholding water for 12 days. ROS accumulation level and electrolytic leakage were significantly increased in both A. hirta ecotypes by drought stress treatment but less in Youngduk than Jinju-1. The RWC significantly decreased in both the drought stress-treated ecotypes as compared to control, but less in Youngduk than Jinju-1. Soluble sugar and protein content were increased more in drought stress-treated Youngduk as compared to Jinju-1. The activities of antioxidant enzymes such as SOD, CAT, POD, APX, and GR increased significantly in both the drought stress-treated ecotypes Youngduk and Jinju-1 as compared to control. The increase in antioxidant enzyme activity level was more prominent in drought stress-treated Youngduk as compared to Jinju-1. Taken together, these results suggest that Youngduk was more tolerant to drought stress than Jinju-1, and seem to indicate that tolerance of A. hirta to drought stress is associated with increased activity of antioxidant enzymes.

Drought is one of the key limiting factors that adversely affects the growth and productivity of crop plants. For the enhancement of drought tolerance in crop plants, the identification of basic mechanisms of a plant to drought stress is necessary. In this study, we compared physiological and biochemical responses of five local Arundenilla hirta ecotypes to drought stress. These ecotypes were previously collected from various parts of Korean peninsula, including Youngduk, Gunsan, Jangsoo, Jinju-1 and Yecheon. A. hirta plants were exposed to drought stress for 14 and 17 days respectively, followed by re-watering for 3 days. The results showed that the lipid peroxidation (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) radical scavenging activity, and proline level were significantly increased while the chlorophyll content was decreased by drought stress in A. hirta leaves. The highest proline content and DPPH scavenging activity were shown in Ecotype of Youngduk with least MDA and H2O2 levels while the highest MDA and H2O2 contents, and least proline and DPPH levels were shown in Gunsan, respectvely. These results indicate that the Youngduk is the most tolerant and Gunsan is the most sensitive ecotype among the five different collections. Together, these results provide a new insight of overall physiological responses of A. hirta to drought stress.

An experiment was conducted to determine the feeding value of Arundinella hirat silage making by different methods ie., added starch 3%, formic acid 1% (FA), anhydrous ammonia (NH3) 3%, and dried poultry waste (DPW) 3%. The samples were analyzed organi