Dry matter yield and nutritive quality of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) cultivars grown in sub-humid areas in Ethiopia

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is one of the most important perennial forage legumes with high nutritional quality. Four alfalfa cultivars were sown in randomized block design with four replications to evaluate their dry matter yield and nutritional quality under rain-fed conditions during 2016-2017 a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cogent food & agriculture 2022-12, Vol.8 (1)
Main Authors: Mengistu, Gezahegn, Aleme, Melkam, Bogale, Ararsa, Tulu, Dereje, Faji, Mulisa, Terefe, Geberemariyam, Mohammed, Kedir
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alfalfa
biomass production
Chemical composition
Cultivars
Dry matter
Ethiopia
Flowering
Hairy Peruvian
Humid areas
Leaves
Legumes
Masha
Medicago sativa
Nutritive value
Plant growth
Plants
Plants (botany)
Proteins
Rain
Rivers
Stems
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Summary:Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is one of the most important perennial forage legumes with high nutritional quality. Four alfalfa cultivars were sown in randomized block design with four replications to evaluate their dry matter yield and nutritional quality under rain-fed conditions during 2016-2017 at Masha, southwest Ethiopia. Percentage of plot cover, plant height, leaf to stem ratio, dry matter yield, crude protein yield, and dry matter (DM), ash, crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and acid detergent lignin (ADL) were measured. The combined analysis revealed that days to 50% flowering were significantly (P  0.05) due to cultivar differences. It could be concluded that, of the tested cultivars, Hairy Peruvian is an appropriate cultivar for biomass production potential under rain-fed conditions for sub-humid areas of southwest Ethiopia.
ISSN:2331-1932
2331-1932
DOI:10.1080/23311932.2022.2154854