engleski

Influence of Soil pH on Alfalfa Dry Matter and Protein Yield

Alfalfa is the most important forage legume at cultivated fields. In the Republic of Croatia sown areas by alfalfa are limited primarily with soil conditions i.e. by low soil pH reactions. The aim of this study was testing of deegres of soil and germplasm influences on dry matter yield (DMY) and protein yield (PY) of alfalfa under conditions of the Eastern Croatia. The experiment was conducted on Osijek eutric cambisol (pH in KCl = 6.41) and Petrijevci loessive-pseudogley (pH in KCl = 3.88), respectively. Twelve alfalfa germplasm (eight domestic and two foreign origin ; two domestic newly bred populations) were tested for two growing seasons (2002 and 2003, total 9 cuts). In the study we found for 31% lower DMY and for 43% lower PY at acid soil. Germplasm Os-88, Elena, Du Puits and newly bred population PCP had the highest DMY and PY at both soil types. We assume that these materials have certain level of tolerance to grow at soils with low pH values.

alfalfa; pH; dry matter; protein; yield

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