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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2018, Vol. 27 ›› Issue (5): 97-108.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2017408

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Productivity and nutritional value of 28 alfalfa varieties in the Yanmenguan area of Shanxi province

ZHENG Min-na, LIANG Xiu-zhi*, HAN Zhi-shun, KANG Jia-hui, CHEN Yan-ni   

  1. High Latitude Crops Institute, Shanxi Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Datong 037008, China
  • Received:2017-09-29 Revised:2017-11-28 Online:2018-05-20 Published:2018-05-20
  • Contact: * E-mail:liangxiuzhi@126.com

Abstract: Twenty-eight alfalfa (Medicago sativa) varieties were studied in Yanmenguan, Shanxi province. The growth rate, leaf∶stem ratio, plant height and hay yield were measured by conventional methods in two consecutive years. In addition, herbage nutritional qualities were measured by near infrared reflectance spectroscopy. Key results were: 1) The growth rate of M. sativa cv. Adrendin were the highest at 2.78 and 3.19 cm·d-1 in 2015 and 2016 respectively. The leaf∶stem ratio of M. sativa cv. WL363HQ was the highest at 0.84 and 0.97 in 2015 and 2016 respectively. 2) The plant height of M. sativa cv. WL298HQ was the highest at 54.90 cm in 2015; The plant height of M. sativa cv. Magnum VII was the highest at 84.27 cm in 2016. The hay yield of M. sativa cv. Lumu No.2 was the highest at 6961.81 kg·hm-2 in 2015, and the hay yield of M. sativa cv. Magnum VII was the highest at 8587.63 kg·hm-2 in 2016. 3) The crude protein, crude ash and ether extract of M. sativa cv.Victorian were the highest at 26.80%, 10.20% and 2.34%; The dry matter percent of Zhaodong was the highest at 94.55%; The acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber of M. sativa cv. Concept were the lowest at 27.18% and 33.31%, respectively. The rumen undegradable protein of M. sativa cv. Ladak was the highest at 22.27%. The dry matter digestibility of M. sativa cv. Concept was the highest at 79.93%. In this evaluation, M. sativa cv. Victorian, M. sativa cv. Concept, M. sativa cv. WL298HQ, M. sativa cv. SK3010 and M. sativa cv. Magnum VII, outperformed other varieties, which indicates that these five varieties are suitable for use in the Yanmenguan region of Shanxi province.

Key words: alfalfa, production performance, near infrared reflectance spectroscopy, nutritional value, comprehensive evaluation