EFFICIENT USE OF WATER RESOURCES IN SUSTAINABLE ALFALFA (Medicago sativa L.) PRODUCTION

Project no. 24158 · Status: Kapanmış (Yayın bekleniyor) · 2022

Summary

<p> <span style="color: black;">This&nbsp;study&nbsp;was&nbsp;conducted&nbsp;under&nbsp;Mediterranean&nbsp;climatic&nbsp;conditions&nbsp;in&nbsp;Bornova,&nbsp;Izmir,&nbsp;between&nbsp;2023&nbsp;and&nbsp;2025&nbsp;to&nbsp;determine&nbsp;irrigation&nbsp;practices&nbsp;that&nbsp;enable&nbsp;more&nbsp;efficient&nbsp;use&nbsp;of&nbsp;water&nbsp;resources&nbsp;in&nbsp;sustainable&nbsp;alfalfa&nbsp;(</span><em style="color: black;">Medicago&nbsp;sativa</em><span style="color: black;">&nbsp;L.)&nbsp;production.&nbsp;Three&nbsp;alfalfa&nbsp;cultivars,&nbsp;namely&nbsp;Blue&nbsp;Ice,&nbsp;Emiliano,&nbsp;and&nbsp;Luxor,&nbsp;were&nbsp;evaluated&nbsp;under&nbsp;three&nbsp;irrigation&nbsp;methods:&nbsp;surface&nbsp;irrigation,&nbsp;subsurface&nbsp;drip&nbsp;irrigation,&nbsp;and&nbsp;sprinkler&nbsp;irrigation.&nbsp;The&nbsp;experiment&nbsp;was&nbsp;arranged&nbsp;in&nbsp;a&nbsp;split-plot&nbsp;design&nbsp;based&nbsp;on&nbsp;randomized&nbsp;complete&nbsp;blocks&nbsp;with&nbsp;three&nbsp;replications.&nbsp;Plant&nbsp;height,&nbsp;stem&nbsp;diameter,&nbsp;fresh&nbsp;forage&nbsp;yield,&nbsp;dry&nbsp;forage&nbsp;yield,&nbsp;dry&nbsp;matter&nbsp;ratio&nbsp;and&nbsp;yield,&nbsp;crude&nbsp;ash&nbsp;ratio&nbsp;and&nbsp;yield,&nbsp;crude&nbsp;protein&nbsp;ratio&nbsp;and&nbsp;yield,&nbsp;crude&nbsp;fat&nbsp;ratio,&nbsp;hemicellulose,&nbsp;NDF,&nbsp;ADF,&nbsp;and&nbsp;plant&nbsp;nutrient&nbsp;contents&nbsp;were&nbsp;investigated.&nbsp;</span></p><p><span style="color: black;">The&nbsp;results&nbsp;showed&nbsp;that&nbsp;irrigation&nbsp;methods&nbsp;and&nbsp;years&nbsp;had&nbsp;significant&nbsp;effects&nbsp;on&nbsp;many&nbsp;measured&nbsp;traits.&nbsp;Based&nbsp;on&nbsp;the&nbsp;two-year&nbsp;averages,&nbsp;the&nbsp;highest&nbsp;plant&nbsp;height&nbsp;was&nbsp;obtained&nbsp;from&nbsp;surface&nbsp;irrigation,&nbsp;which&nbsp;also&nbsp;generally&nbsp;produced&nbsp;superior&nbsp;fresh&nbsp;and&nbsp;dry&nbsp;forage&nbsp;yields.&nbsp;In&nbsp;contrast,&nbsp;the&nbsp;highest&nbsp;crude&nbsp;protein&nbsp;content&nbsp;was&nbsp;determined&nbsp;under&nbsp;sprinkler&nbsp;irrigation.&nbsp;Differences&nbsp;among&nbsp;cultivars&nbsp;were&nbsp;observed&nbsp;for&nbsp;several&nbsp;quality&nbsp;traits;&nbsp;Luxor&nbsp;was&nbsp;particularly&nbsp;notable&nbsp;for&nbsp;crude&nbsp;protein&nbsp;content,&nbsp;whereas&nbsp;Emiliano&nbsp;showed&nbsp;promising&nbsp;performance&nbsp;in&nbsp;some&nbsp;yield-related&nbsp;characteristics.&nbsp;The&nbsp;findings&nbsp;indicate&nbsp;that&nbsp;in&nbsp;alfalfa&nbsp;production,&nbsp;not&nbsp;only&nbsp;high&nbsp;yield&nbsp;but&nbsp;also&nbsp;water-use&nbsp;efficiency&nbsp;and&nbsp;forage&nbsp;quality&nbsp;should&nbsp;be&nbsp;considered&nbsp;together&nbsp;when&nbsp;evaluating&nbsp;irrigation&nbsp;strategies.&nbsp;Overall,&nbsp;the&nbsp;study&nbsp;demonstrated&nbsp;that&nbsp;under&nbsp;the&nbsp;ecological&nbsp;conditions&nbsp;of&nbsp;Bornova,&nbsp;selecting&nbsp;an&nbsp;appropriate&nbsp;irrigation&nbsp;method&nbsp;can&nbsp;contribute&nbsp;substantially&nbsp;to&nbsp;sustainable&nbsp;water&nbsp;management&nbsp;while&nbsp;maintaining&nbsp;high&nbsp;yield&nbsp;and&nbsp;producing&nbsp;high-quality&nbsp;roughage&nbsp;in&nbsp;alfalfa&nbsp;cultivation.</span></p><p></p>

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