Pot experiments were conducted in greenhouse on effects of salts different in type and concentration on growth and physiological indexes of crops to find out mechanisms of their adaptability and tolerance to salt.The results showed that plant height, number of effective tillers, yield and biomass of the ground parts of barley dropped along with the increasing soil salt concentration and the growth of spinach was inhibited even more significantly.The content of malondialdehyde(MDA) in barley leaves increased with the increasing NaCl concentration and reached summit under Na₂CO₃ stress.Compared with barley, more Na⁺ was transported through roots to the ground parts and accumulated in spinach leaves under salt stress. Barley has the capability of restraining transportation of salt ions to leaves and sustaining normal function of leaves.Na₂CO₃ is more harmful to leaves of the plants.