Yield and Persistence from Mixtures of a Winter Hardy and a Verticillium Wilt Resistant Lucerne Cultivar |
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| Authors: | D G Stout S N Acharya J W Hall K Broersma |
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| Institution: | Range Research Ranch, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, V2B 8 A9;Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, T1J 4B1;and Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Summerland, British Columbia, V0H 1Z0 |
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| Abstract: | In British Columbia, Lucerne stand persistence is reduced by inadequate disease resistance, winter hardiness, or both. We evaluated the possibility that persistence could be improved by sowing mixtures of winter hardy and verticillium wilt (VW) resistant cultivars. Our hypothesis was that dry matter yield of mixtures of two Lucerne cultivars could be calculated simply from the proportion of each cultivar in the mixture and their yield in pure stand. A winter hardy cultivar, Beaver, was grown in mixtures with each of three VW (caused by Verticillium albo-atrum Reinke & Berthier) resistant cultivars (WL316, Sparta, or Barrier) in proportions of 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0. The yield of a mixture of two cultivars could be calculated from the proportion of each cultivar in the seed mixture and their yields in monoculture. In the absence of a winter where severe injury to Lucerne stands occurred, the VW-resistant cultivar Barrier yielded about 2 t ha?1 year?1 more than the more winter hardy Beaver. |
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| Keywords: | Legume plant disease forage yield winter injury seed mixture alfalfa |
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