Basic Alfalfa Germplasms Differ in Nutritive Content of Forage

Much is now known about the morphological attributes of the lucerne plant that contribute to improved tolerance to grazing. With the aim of developing grazing‐tolerant varieties, a range of genotypes were preliminarily selected for the presence of desirable attributes, and categorized into four morphological models based on their top‐growth morphology and vigour. Little is known about the implications for forage quality of selection of non‐conventional, grazing‐type lucerne. This investigation was undertaken to study aspects of the quality (crude protein, fibre, and lignin content; nutritive value; plant leafiness) of the selected material, with particular reference to the morphological models identified in the first phase and to flower colour, which has taxonomic importance within the species. The results indicate that selection of grazing‐type cultivars would not produce detrimental effects in terms of forage quality relative to common, hay‐type lucerne. Plants with yellow or variegated flowers, often corresponding to rhizomatous types, were characterized by high leaf percentage, which resulted in high‐quality features.

show abstract

“…morphological model, flower colour and genotype. Such a variability of NDF confirms previous findings by Lenssen et al. (1991), Jung et al.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Forage Quality Components in Grazing‐Type Lucerne (Medicago sativa L. complex)

Pecetti

Berardo

Odoardi

et al. 2001

J Agronomy Crop Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Other authors have found genetic variation for plant digestibility (Allinson et al, 1969) or stem digestibility (Heinrichs et al, 1969;Lenssen et al, 1991). Over the nine combinations of locations and cycles, the difference for plant digestibility was 2.5 points between Natsuwakaba and 63-28P.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…These results were obtained with the calculation of stem digestibility through plant digestibility and leaf/stem ratio, assuming a constant leaf digestibility. A genetic difference for leaf digestibility has only been reported once (Lenssen et al, 1991), and this was probably due to the presence of one M falcata population. Significant correlation was observed between plant digestibility and stem height, induced by the correlations between leaf/stem ratio and plant height and between plant digestibility and leaf/stem ratio.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, two alfalfa cultivars, differing for digestibility, induced differences in milk production of dairy cows (Emile et al, 1996(Emile et al, , 1997. Genetic variation for digestibility in alfalfa has been shown (Heinrichs et al, 1969;Buxton et al, 1987;Lenssen et al, 1991;Julier et al, 1996), and possibilities for improving populations have been demonstrated (Demment et al, 1986). Some data are available on changes in digestibility during plant growth.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Effect of growth and cultivar on alfalfa digestibility in a multi-site trial

Julier

Huyghe

1997

Agronomie

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Summary -It is well known that digestibility decreases during growth in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L), but the effects of genetic variation and the environment on digestibility are less documented. Seven cultivars were studied in five locations in France, and four samplings were taken over two regrowth cycles. Forage yield, stem height, number of stems, plant digestibility, stem digestibility and leaf/stem ratio were recorded. All traits were influenced by location, cycle, cultivar and sampling date effects. Digestibility decreased with yield, as plants grew, and leaf/stem ratio also decreased. The regression between plant digestibility and yield was the same for all the cultivars. However, this regression was quite different depending on the location. Digestibility decreased faster in some locations than in others. Location effects were not related to average temperatures. The seven cultivars showed differences in digestibility, as a result of various combinations of leaf/stem ratio and stem digestibility. At

show abstract

“…Modern alfalfa varieties have been used for genetic mapping (Segovia-Lerma et al, 2003; Ariss and Vandemark, 2007) and forage quality and water use efficiency (WUE; Lenssen et al, 1991; Ray et al, 1998, 2004; Segovia-Lerma et al, 2004). The method of carbon isotope discrimination was employed for measuring WUE.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of Single-Nucleotide Polymorphic Loci Associated with Biomass Yield under Water Deficit in Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) Using Genome-Wide Sequencing and Association Mapping

2017

Front. Plant Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Alfalfa is a worldwide grown forage crop and is important due to its high biomass production and nutritional value. However, the production of alfalfa is challenged by adverse environmental factors such as drought and other stresses. Developing drought resistance alfalfa is an important breeding target for enhancing alfalfa productivity in arid and semi-arid regions. In the present study, we used genotyping-by-sequencing and genome-wide association to identify marker loci associated with biomass yield under drought in the field in a panel of diverse germplasm of alfalfa. A total of 28 markers at 22 genetic loci were associated with yield under water deficit, whereas only four markers associated with the same trait under well-watered condition. Comparisons of marker-trait associations between water deficit and well-watered conditions showed non-similarity except one. Most of the markers were identical across harvest periods within the treatment, although different levels of significance were found among the three harvests. The loci associated with biomass yield under water deficit located throughout all chromosomes in the alfalfa genome agreed with previous reports. Our results suggest that biomass yield under drought is a complex quantitative trait with polygenic inheritance and may involve a different mechanism compared to that of non-stress. BLAST searches of the flanking sequences of the associated loci against DNA databases revealed several stress-responsive genes linked to the drought resistance loci, including leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase, B3 DNA-binding domain protein, translation initiation factor IF2, and phospholipase-like protein. With further investigation, those markers closely linked to drought resistance can be used for MAS to accelerate the development of new alfalfa cultivars with improved resistance to drought and other abiotic stresses.

show abstract

Basic Alfalfa Germplasms Differ in Nutritive Content of Forage

Cited by 22 publications

References 0 publications

Forage Quality Components in Grazing‐Type Lucerne (Medicago sativa L. complex)

Forage Quality Components in Grazing‐Type Lucerne (Medicago sativa L. complex)

Effect of growth and cultivar on alfalfa digestibility in a multi-site trial

Identification of Single-Nucleotide Polymorphic Loci Associated with Biomass Yield under Water Deficit in Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) Using Genome-Wide Sequencing and Association Mapping

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About