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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2021, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (8): 60-72.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2020273

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Effects of planting method on seed yield and its components in Medicago ruthenica in an arid area of Longzhong

Yu-xia WANG(), Jin-long CHAI, Yang-yang ZHOU, Chang-lin XU, Lin WANG, Xiao-jun YU()   

  1. Grassland Science College of Gansu Agricultural University,Grassland Ecosystem Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education,Sino-U. S. Research Centers for Sustainable Grassland and Livestock Management,Lanzhou 730070,China
  • Received:2020-06-15 Revised:2020-08-25 Online:2021-07-09 Published:2021-07-09
  • Contact: Xiao-jun YU

Abstract:

This research evaluated alternative cultivation methods for Medicago ruthenica seed production in arid regions, and the results provide a theoretical basis and practical guidance for seed production practice in the study region. We set up experiments in Dingxi, Gansu Province, from 2017 to 2019 to study seed yield and its components in M. ruthenica. The experiment comprised 6 planting configurations, all in 30 cm rows: i) planted on flat ground without mulch (F0, Control), ii) planted on flat ground with a white 0.008 mm thick plastic film mulch (FP), iii) planted on flat ground with 4500 kg·hm-2 straw mulch (FS); iv) planted in furrows between 10 cm-high rain harvesting ridges (R0), v) as for (iv) but with a plastic film mulch (RP) and vi) as for (iv) but with straw mulch (RS). It was found that the absolute height, branch number, taproot length, photosynthetic characteristics, pod number, seed number, harvested seed yield and seed yield of M. ruthenica over the 3 years ranked as follows: RP>FP>FS>RS>R0>Control. For RP and FP treatments in 2017, the absolute height, branch number, photosynthetic characteristics and harvested seed yield of plants were significantly higher than those of other treatments. Differences between the treatments RP and FP were not significant in 2018-2019, and the treatments FS and RS did not differ in absolute plant height, branch number and harvested seed yield of plants in 2018-2019. Over the 3 years, the harvested seed yield of treatment RP was highest, with increases of 110.4%, 38.6% and 20.4%, respectively compared with the Control. After RP, the second highest performance was obtained in FP and FS treatments, with the FP treatment producing, respectively 94.6%, 38.4% and 15.5% more harvested seed than the Control in 2018-2019, and the FS treatment producing, respectively 48.0%, 37.1%, 13.3% more than the Control in the three years. Considering a range of factors including yield, plastic film cost, soil pollution and the convenience of cultivation, it was concluded that the FS treatment should be recommended for M. ruthenica seed production in the Longzhong area.

Key words: Longzhong arid area, Medicago ruthenica, planting method, film straw to the ground, seed yield