Analysis on nutritional quality of Elymus nutans among different populations onQinghai-Tibet Plateau

Abstract：The content of water soluble carbohydrate (WSC) and crude protein(CP) of six Elymus nutans populations from QinghaiTibet Plateau were investigated in the study. The results indicated that:There were significant differences in WSC and CP content among different populations in different growth stages. The highest content of WSC was observed in the population from Gonghe, Qinghai, The highest content of CP was observed in the population from Maqu.The WSC and CP contents varied significantly in different growth stages, the highest value appeared in early blooming stage, ranging between 1.58% and 6.91% for the six populations. The CP content decreased as the plant grew, the Lowest values was observed in the full ripe stage. The content of WSC and CP showed determinate variabilities, the coefficient of variabilities ranged from 36.47%～51.29% and 4.76%～20.29%, respectively. In the whole growing stage, the WSC contents were significantly and negatively correlated with the CP contents (P0.01)。