Production Performance in Alfalfa with Different Classes of Fall Dormancy

Abstract

Fall dormancy (FD) in alfalfa is related to regrowth, yield and plant height in autumn. The objectives of this research were to evaluate variability for agronomical traits among 42 alfalfa varieties with fall dormancy classes ranging from 2 to 9 in Zhengzhou, China. The results were as follows: (1) The dry matter yields (DM) of 42 varieties in 2004 and 2005 were higher than those in 2002, and the yield in 2002 was higher than that in 2003, due to the low temperature and high rainfall in 2003; (2) DM yields of fall dormant and semi-fall dormant alfalfa were higher than those of non-fall dormant alfalfa; (3) Cutting times had a significant effect on DM herbage yield, with the highest yield in the first cutting and the lowest in the fifth. The first 3 cuttings in the spring and early summer should be paid attention for the alfalfa yield; (4) The non-fall dormant alfalfa should not be selected in the production of Zhengzhou, because FD classes had extremely significant negative correlation with CP content and DM yield (P0.01), and positive correlation with CF.