Abstract
The effect of cultivar and plant density on dry matter yield and nutritive value of alfalfa was studied. The trial was conducted at the first cutting of alfalfa plants in their second and third years of growth, and four cultivars and two different crop densities were tested. The cultivars were found to have significant effect on dry matter yield, proportion of leaf in total yield and content of crude proteins under both densities. The highest forage yield was achieved in first density (20 cm row spacing with 15 kgha-1 seed rate). The wide row spacing (50 cm) with low seed rate (9 kgha-1) was showed lower forage production. The effect of cultivars and plant density on other parameters of forage nutritive value was insignificant. A high positive correlation with the proportion of leaf was found for the content of crude proteins (r=0.961), concentration of potassium (r=0.876), phosphorus (r=0.561), calcium (r=0.550) and content of crude fat (r=0.500). Crude fiber was highly negatively correlated with leaf proportion (r=0.916), while the latter showed no correlation with crude ash (r=0.185) and nitrogen-free extract (0.010).
Highlights
Alfalfa is cultivated on some 200,000 ha in Serbia and it is currently the primary source of forages
In the second and third years of growth (2003-2004), dry matter yield and nutritive value of forage of three domestic alfalfa cultivars (Novosađanka H – 11, NS – Slavija and Zaječarska – 83) and one French cultivar (Europе), all sown at two densities (18 kg ha-1 seeds per sowing and 20 cm inter-row spacing - A1; and 9 kgha-1 seeds per sowing and 50 cm inter-row spacing - A2) were investigated
Compared to A1 density, the average dry matter yield recorded at A2 density was lower by 2.83 tha-1
Summary
Alfalfa is cultivated on some 200,000 ha in Serbia and it is currently the primary source of forages. Its yield and the nutritive value of dry matter make it a leading perennial leguminous forage crop (Sauvant et al 2002; Đukić 2002; Radović et al 2004; Dinić and Đorđević, 2005). Numerous cultivars have been created worldwide, and in Serbia as well, by using highly divergent genetic materials and different breeding methods. Cultivars and their genetic characteristics crucially determine the volume and stability of yield, as well as the quality of feed (Beković, 1997; Radović, et al., 2004; Stanisavljević, 2006). The significantly higher green and dry matter yield was achieved in A1 density with seed rate of 15 kgha-1 and 20 cm row spacing. Significant effect of row spacing on alfalfa forage yield in Kosovo and Metohija was obtained in investigation of Beković and Savić (1996)
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