Abstract

SummaryFollowing a winter with low temperatures during a period with no snow cover, lucerne (alfalfa;Medicago sativaL.) plants were dug from the field and various root and crown lesions were identified and rated according to severity. The plants were then put into pots of soil and grown for 6 weeks to determine if they would live or die. The relationship between lesions present at the time of digging and survival was then studied to see if the lesions could be used to predict survival. Injuries to several characteristics were found to be associated with plant death: bud vigour, leaf vigour, resistance of root bark to peeling, resistance of root to squeezing, root interior colour and, depending on site, the presence of fungi on the root surface. A model combining injury ratings for three characteristics (bud vigour, root colour, and root resistance to peeling) was developed and survival probabilities based on this model are presented. Use of this model will allow for an early evaluation of low-temperature injury without having to wait for aerial growth to occur.

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