Abstract
A field study compared the seedling emergence and structure of five forage legumes ( Trifolium repens L., Medicago falcata L., Melilotus suaveolens Ledeb, Medicago sativa L. and Lespedeza davurica Schindler) at five planting depths (1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 cm) and two light levels (full light and shade) on the 21st day after planting. As expected, increaseing depth lowered and slowed seedling emergence. Maximum emergence occurred at 1 and 2 cm depths for all five forage legumes irrespective of light levels; then decreased as the burial depth increased. Improved seedling emergence was also observed under shade compared to full light. Increased sowing depth diminished seedling size by reducing the plant height, biomass, leaf number and size of all five forage legumes. All the morphological traits and seedling biomass were reduced under shade condition except seedling height and cotyledon size. The optimal planting depth for all the forage legumes in this study was 1 to 2 cm. M. falcata, M. suaveolens and M. sativa had high percentage of emergence and better growth from deeper depth or under shade condition. Key words: Burial depth, forage legume, optimal planting depth, relative growth rate, seedling emergence, seedling mass, seedling morphology, shade.
Highlights
Using forage legumes to establish artificial grassland and mixed pasture can increase plant species diversity, enhance forage quality and enhance soil quality by nitrogen fixation, soil structure improvement and water infiltration (Miller and Jastrow, 1996; Sleugh et al, 2000; Frame, 2001)
Seedling emergence was significantly affected by burial depth, light and species (Table 2)
For T. repens, a large percentage of the seedlings emerged only from the 1 and 2 cm burial depths; very few seedlings emerged from the 4 cm burial treatment in full sunlight; no seedlings emerged from the 6 cm depth (Figure 1b)
Summary
Using forage legumes to establish artificial grassland and mixed pasture can increase plant species diversity, enhance forage quality and enhance soil quality by nitrogen fixation, soil structure improvement and water infiltration (Miller and Jastrow, 1996; Sleugh et al, 2000; Frame, 2001). Given that seedling establishment and growth can be influence by multiple environmental factors (Bazzaz and Miao, 1993; Walters and Reich, 1997; Benvenuti et al, 2001; Zheng et al, 2005), detailed information on the emergence, growth and development of legume forage seedlings under different environmental factors were required for devising appropriate management practices and choosing the right species to formulate potential seed mixtures for multi-species plantings (Sanderson and Elwinger, 2004). On the other hand, usually reduces emergence and vigor of seedlings, frequently leads to poor establishment, despite more deeply sown seeds having a greater chance of accessing soil moisture (Beveridge and Wilsie, 1959; Arnott, 1969; Ries and Hoffman, 1995; Forcella et al, 2000). Determining optimum planting depth for individual species is critical for establishing productive stands in fields
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