## 4 Conclusions and Recommendations  
The effects of five soil salinity levels on the agronomic and nutritional quality parameters of three _Chloris gayana_ genotypes (ILRI-6633, ILRI-7384, and CV-massaba) for dry and hot conditions of Ethiopia were evaluated. The agronomic parameters such as the germination rate, germination time, plant height, and shoot and root dry matter weights showed a decreasing trend with the increasing soil salinity levels for all _Chloris gayana_ genotypes. The highest germination rate, lowest germination time, maximum plant height, and the number of tillers per plant were observed in ILRI-6633 compared to ILRI-7384 and CV-massaba genotypes. For all three genotypes, the root length was more severely affected than the shoot length at all salinity levels. The increasing soil salinity negatively affected the  
Figure 6: Effect of different salinity levels on (**a**) Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF) (LSD = 2.72; CV = 21.85) and (**b**) Invitro dry matter digestibility content (IvDMDC) (LSD = 3.19; CV = 20.83) on three Chloris gayana genotypes.  
shoot and root dry matter of three _Chloris gayana_ genotypes. The reduction in shoot dry matter was more noticeable at the higher salinity levels (i.e., 15-20 dS m\({}^{-1}\)).  
The chlorophyll content values were consistent up to 10 dS m\({}^{-1}\), whereas significant reduction was observed at higher salinity levels (15-20 dS m\({}^{-1}\)). The highest crude protein (CP) and ash content (AC) values were obtained for ILRI-6633 and ILRI-7384 genotypes at 5 dS m\({}^{-1}\), whereas CV-massaba reported lowest CP value (3.8%) and ash content (12.4) at the same salinity level.  
From the feeding point of view, lower values of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) are desirable. NDF values showed an increasing trend with the growing salt stress. The genotypes with lower CP values tend to have higher NDF values. On average, the maximum NDF values were found in ILRI-6633 and the lowest in CV-massaba genotype for all salinity levels. The average in vitro dry matter digestibility content (IvDMDC) also showed a decreasing trend with the increasing salinity levels. This means _Chloris gayana_ forage grass has higher digestibility.  
In conclusion, ILRI-6633 is identified as the most salt-tolerant, high yielding and better nutritive forage grass than the other two genotypes. CV-massaba is superior to the other two genotypes in terms of germination under saline conditions. Therefore, these two genotypes can potentially be grown to increase farm productivity in salt-affected areas of Ethiopia.  
Methodology, A.W.D. and A.S.Q.; field experiment and data collection, A.W.D. and B.N.N.; writing--original draft preparation, A.W.D. and A.S.Q; writing--review and editing, A.S.Q.  
This work was supported by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Rome, Italy. (Grant No. 2000001100).  
This study was conducted as part of the project \"Rehabilitation and management of salt-affected soils to improve agricultural productivity (RAMSAP)\" in Ethiopia and South Sudan. The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial grant received for the implementation of this project. We are also thankful to the field team of the Werer Agricultural Research Center in Ethiopia for conducting field trials and collecting field data.  
The authors declare no conflict of interest.