Establishment and management of alfalfa pasture in cold regions of China

Abstract

Grasslands occur naturally in cold regions in China, and are the traditional animal husbandry base. Natural grasslands have degraded severely due mainly to heavy use and global climate change, distinguished with low productivity and poor ecological function. The small scales and low-industrialization levels of alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L.) pasture are bottlenecks for development of modern animal husbandry in China. Therefore, forage production from natural grasslands cannot fully meet the demands for animal husbandry. Development of high-yield alfalfa pasture is an effective way to solve these problems. In this review, we systematically analyzed both domestic and international markets for alfalfa. Currently, alfalfa hay production in China can only supply less than 50% of total alfalfa demands, and more than 50% of alfalfa hay has to be imported from overseas countries, mainly from USA. On the one hand, the lack of forage supply greatly restricts development of animal husbandry in the alpine regions of China, which is a traditional base of animal husbandry in China. On the other hand, there are large areas of lands that can be used to develop alfalfa pasture in these regions. As a key component of “Grass-based Animal Husbandry”, establishment of alfalfa pasture with high yield and quality as well as high resource efficiency is of importance for the successful development of “Grass-based Animal Husbandry” in China. The development of large scale of alfalfa pasture in the alpine regions is hindered by the lack of alfalfa varieties adapted to the alpine regions and poor alfalfa establishment and management technologies. In practice, the management regimes of crops are often copied to manage alfalfa pasture. However, the crop and pasture systems differ markedly. For example, crops and alfalfa are used for harvesting grains and above-ground biomass, respectively. Moreover, crops are often annual, while alfalfa is perennial. To solve these problems, we developed comprehensive technologies in alfalfa pasture in the alpine regions. More specifically, we selected several elite alfalfa varieties that exhibited high yield and were capable of surviving the cold winters. We further developed planting methodologies that allowed for the rapid establishment of seedlings, facilitation of leaf growth, and minimizing weeds and water evaporation. Our results showed that production of alfalfa hay in the alpine region of Hulunbeir, Inner Monogolia Autonomous Region, China, was 5000 kg ha −1 in the first year of planting, and it reached 9000 kg ha −1 in the second year of planting. The crude protein contents of the alfalfa were as high as 20%. These achievements highlight that the development of high yield alfalfa pasture is feasible, and that it provides technical support and theoretical guidance in development and management of high quality alfalfa pasture in these regions.