Alfalfa Growing Articles
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Watermills in the historic irrigation system ‘Palmeral de Elche’, Spain: an example of early hydropower exploitation
With more than 180,000 date palms, the Palmeral de Elche is the largest palm grove in Europe. In 2000, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared a part of it a World Heritage Site. Actually, the Palmeral is a historic irrigation system with rows of palm trees flanking rectangular fields and serving as a windbreak and shade for the cultivation of wheat, ...
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Singer`s algorithm controls farm irrigation - Case Study
Their Challenge On the San Xavier Reservation near Tucson, Arizona, the Tohono O’odom Nation grows organic alfalfa for racing horses plus fruits and vegetables. Thanks to Singer Valve, San Xavier is home to a sophisticated flood irrigation system that consists of one 16” (400 mm) globe style and eight 16” angle style valves and five storage tanks each with its own control ...
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Can drip irrigation keep the Prairie Profitable?
The use of flood and center pivot irrigation of crops via the waters of the Ogallala Aquifer is as hot a discussion topic as the current drought. To many who mine the aquifer to make a living, trying to keep a profitable way of life sustainable in a time when the broader public is seeking more conservation of resources yet wanting inexpensive, plentiful and safe food is problematic. Perhaps it's ...
By Netafim USA
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Rake In Greater Capacity And Higher Hay Quality
It’s been said that the steel-toothed dump rake was first introduced in the 1860s. Of course, the process back then was to rake hay into piles, which were then pitched onto a wagon for transport to a haystack or the barn loft. To make windrows for the balers that came later, the operator simply spaced the “dumps” equally so they lined up in the field. The irony is that until ...
By Vermeer
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19 Things the AP Got Wrong
The Associated Press recently published an article on “the secret environmental cost of U.S. ethanol policy.” There is much in this article that is too misleading, poor or deficient analysis, over-simplistic, or poorly drawn conclusions to comment on, but here are 19 big things the AP got wrong. The article seems to put the blame on Obama the candidate and the Obama administration. ...
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Deer eating your plants? Tips for solving deer problems:
‘Deer’ can refer to any one of almost a hundred different species spanning the globe. The most common species in the U.S. are the white-tailed deer (in the east, southeast and Midwest) and the mule deer out west. Deer numbers have increased considerably since man has virtually eliminated their major predators. Suburbs encroaching on formerly natural open areas, woods and farm ...
By Bird-X Inc.
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Ecotoxicological responses of three ornamental herb species to cadmium
Cadmium is one of the most toxic elements. The ideal vegetal cover should be ensured by the selection of appropriate plant species for successful phytoremediation. In the present study, the ecotoxicological effects of Cd on the following 3 ornamental herbs were investigated: Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.), white clover (Trifolium repens L.), and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). Based ...
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Comparison of runoff quantity and quality under annual cropping and forages
Conversion from annual cropping to perennial forages may be a beneficial management practice (BMP) to reduce runoff quantity and improve surface water quality. Runoff variables were determined in two 30 ha producer's fields over 4 years (2004–2007) using a rainfall simulator. Field 1 was cropped to barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) in 2004 and then an alfalfa (Medicago sp.) and grass mix used for ...
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Living mulch nutritive value in a corn-soybean-forage rotation
Living mulches can function to supply forage in multifunctional cropping systems. Information quantifying nutritive value of forage plants in living mulch cropping systems is limited. The objective of this research was to quantify the nutritive value of forages from different plant functional groups managed as living mulches in 2 of 3 yr and as a forage crop in the third year of this 3-yr corn ...
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QTL underlying self-fertility in tetraploid alfalfa
A potential strategy to decrease the levels of self-seed production during the seed increase stages of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) synthetic cultivar development is selection for decreased self-fertility. The underlying genetics of this trait have not been elucidated and, therefore, a study was designed to identify genetic determinants of alfalfa self-fertility. An F1 mapping population ...
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Combining ability and heterosis for forage yield among elite alfalfa core collection accessions with different fall dormancy responses
Understanding genetic parameters of populations that are being considered for inclusion into plant-breeding programs provides critical knowledge to enhance economic traits of interest. The objective of this study was to determine the genetic parameters influencing forage yield for nine populations selected from the USDA National Plant Germplasm System alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) core collection ...
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Fatty acid profiles of orchardgrass, tall fescue, perennial ryegrass, and alfalfa
Recent research shows that the meat from beef animals finished on pasture has greater concentrations of omega-3 fatty acid (FA) and conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) compared with animals finished on high-concentrate diets. However, little is known about the FA concentrations in forage that might alter these FA in the meat of pasture-finished beef. The objective was to determine the FA variation ...
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Development and characterization of SSR markers and their use to assess genetic relationships among alfalfa germplasms
Simple sequence repeat (SSR), or microsatellite markers, are codominant, abundant and hypervariable molecular markers from eukaryotic genomes that are being widely used in genetic mapping, phylogenetic studies, and marker-assisted selection. Currently, the number of SSR markers available from alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) genomic libraries is limited. This study was conducted to identify ...
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Pollinator effects on genotypically distinct soybean cytoplasmic male sterile lines
Poor seed-set limits potential for soybean hybrid seed production. The objective of this study was to evaluate effects of different pollinators on the rate of seed set in three soybean cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) lines, JLCMS9A, JLCMS82A, and JLCMS89A. The following five treatments were applied under net room isolation-conditions: (i) insecticide application and release of alfalfa leafcutter ...
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High yielding organic crop management decreases plant-available but not recalcitrant soil phosphorus
Phosphorus is a nonrenewable resource, raising concerns that agricultural practices may deplete reserves. Organic farming with low P inputs can result in deficient levels of plant-available phosphorus (available-P). The purpose of this study was to determine if common organically managed rotations are depleting P reserves or if large reserves still exist in unavailable forms. The research was ...
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Zone tillage depth affects yield and economics of corn silage production
Increasing numbers of dairies in northeastern United States are classified as confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). Many dairy farmers in New York (NY) abandoned conventional and adopted zone tillage (ZT) in 4-yr corn (Zea mays L.) silage-alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) rotations on highly erodible land to comply with NY CAFO plans. Farmers now question optimum ZT depth because of increased ...
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Potential for delayed orchardgrass seeding during glyphosate-resistant alfalfa establishment
Few herbicides are labeled for weed control when establishing alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)-grass mixtures. Varying the planting date of the grass in relation to alfalfa and adjusting herbicide application timing could improve weed control and forage grass safety. The research objective was to evaluate the use of glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine] for weed control in seedling ...
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Plant growth regulator effects on balancing vegetative and reproductive phases in alfalfa seed yield
The use of plant growth regulators (PGRs) has opened new prospects for increased seed production in grasses and legumes, but little information is available on the effects of PGRs on alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) seed production. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of applying chlormequat chloride (CCC) (2-chloroethyl-trimethyl-ammonium chloride) in combination with five PGRs ...
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Living mulch forage yield and botanical composition in a corn-soybean-forage rotation
Managing forages as living mulches during row crop production requires suppressing the forages to produce economical crop yields. The objective of this research was to identify forage plants with varied growth habit, persistence, and yield potential to provide desirable ecosystem functions in a multifunctional cropping system. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), kura clover (Trifolium ambiguum Bieb.), ...
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Yields of alfalfa varieties with different fall-dormancy levels in a temperate environment
Fall dormancy (FD) is an important indicator of winter hardiness in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), but the relationship between FD and the yield potential of alfalfa varieties with contrasting FD classes has not been determined in the temperate regions with mild winters. This study was conducted with 42 varieties of eight FD classes (2–9) over four consecutive years to determine the relationship ...
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