Abstract
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) production is affected by many factors, including management practices, soil conditions, and the environmental elements of the target area. Varietal differences, in terms of agronomic performance and forage yield, among 50 alfalfa cultivars under six harvest systems following regrowth were evaluated during the growing season of 2019–2020 under non-irrigated rainfed conditions in a coastal saline-alkali soil region of North China. Days to harvesting, plant height, canopy area, growth rate, and forage yield were assessed to rank the cultivars. Furthermore, the key factor influencing the regrowth of the second year after over-wintering was identified based on the growth status before over-wintering by using the Boston Matrix method. Results showed significant (p < 0.05) differences among cultivars and harvests regarding plant height, canopy area, and forage yield. Alfalfa forage yield ranged between 24.2 t ha−1 yr−1 and 32.7 t ha−1 yr−1. The highest forage yield was obtained in cultivar Guochan No.1, and was lowest in cultivar Magnum 601. Forage yield reached the greatest values for the first harvest, and then decreased gradually and changed stably. The forage yield of the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth harvest ranged from 3.4 t ha−1 to 4.3 t ha−1 (averaged across 50 cultivars), which represented 10.8% to 15.2% of the annual total forage production. We also observed that forage yield correlated strongly, but negatively, with the growth rate. According to subordinate function value analysis, Womu No.1, WL440HQ, Weston, Surprise, and WL354HQ proved optimum cultivars for general cultivation in this coastal area. In future, development of alfalfa cultivars with improved regrowth and tolerance to heavy saline-alkali soil and early spring drought would be necessary to increase forage yield under rainfed conditions in coastal saline-alkali areas of North China.
Highlights
In recent years, livestock production has been increased rapidly, in North China [1], which is highly dependent on adequate forage resources
Our hypothesis is that the agronomical performance and forage yield of alfalfa may change with cultivars, weather conditions, and fall dormancy levels and that alfalfa regrowth during the second year may be affected by growth before over-wintering when alfalfa is planted in the autumn season
Differences were observed in the alfalfa growth period of all 50 cultivars (Table 2)
Summary
Livestock production has been increased rapidly, in North China [1], which is highly dependent on adequate forage resources. Cultivation of salt- and drought-tolerant forage plants is important in this region in order to better utilise these land resources to meet the demands of the livestock population. Our hypothesis is that the agronomical performance and forage yield of alfalfa may change with cultivars, weather conditions, and fall dormancy levels and that alfalfa regrowth during the second year may be affected by growth before over-wintering when alfalfa is planted in the autumn season. The main objectives of this study were to analyse the effects of alfalfa growth before over-wintering on its regrowth during the second year, and to evaluate the performance of 50 alfalfa cultivars regarding their agronomic traits and forage yield under rainfed conditions, in order to facilitate the selection of high-yielding cultivars that adapted to this study area. Life 2021, 11, 1436 yield under rainfed conditions, in order to facilitate the selection of high-yielding cultivars that adapted to this study area
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