Water relations and use-efficiency,plant survival and productivity of nine alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) cultivars in dryland Mediterranean conditions |
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| Institution: | 1. Plant Breeding and Phenomic Center, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Interdisciplinary Excellence Research Program on Adaptation of Agriculture to Climate Change (A2C2), University of Talca, Casilla 747, Talca, Chile;2. Instituto de investigaciones Agropecuaria, CRI-La Cruz, La Cruz, Chile;3. Instituto de investigaciones Agropecuaria, Centro Experimental Cauquenes, Cauquenes, Chile;4. Universidad de Concepción, Facultad de Agronomía, Chillán, Chile;5. South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), GPO Box 397, Adelaide, Australia;1. Department of Agronomy, University of Almeria, Carretera de Sacramento s/n, 04120 La Cañada de San Urbano, Almería, Spain;2. CIAIMBITAL Research Centre for Mediterranean Intensive Agrosystems and Agrifood Biotechnology, University of Almeria, Spain;1. Michigan State University, Department of Horticulture, 1066 Bogue St., East Lansing, MI 48823 USA;2. Michigan State University, Department of Forestry, 408 Wilson Rd., East Lansing, MI 48824 USA;1. Department of Plant Biology, Institute of Biology, State University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil;2. Laboratory of Biology, State University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Coxim, Brazil;3. Department of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, Institute of Botany, São Paulo, Brazil;4. Institute of Biosciences (INBIO), Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, Brazil;1. Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad del País Vasco, UPV/EHU, Apdo. 644, E-48080 Bilbao, Spain;2. Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad del País Vasco, UPV/EHU, P° de la Universidad 7, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain |
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| Abstract: | The potential for alfalfa to be a valuable rainfed pasture option that can be used to increase livestock and crop production in central-south Chile is demonstrated for the first time. The persistence, productivity and water use efficiency of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) cultivars was evaluated at four sites in dryland Mediterranean environments of Chile between 2012 and 2015. Nine alfalfa cultivars were evaluated for plant persistence, winter growth, forage yield, shoot water potential (Ψ), stomatal conductance (gs), and carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) compositions. The percentage of plant survival after four years varied between 69 and 97% of the established plants. Alfalfa forage yield was >9 t ha−1yr−1 at Yungay (Andes foothills) in year two, and at Cauquenes (interior dryland site) in years three and four. The highest forage yield was obtained in cultivars SARDI Ten and Aquarius and the lowest in WL326HQ. In 2015, the forage yield during late spring and early summer (November 2015–January 2016) ranged from 3170 to 3570 kg ha−1 (average of the nine cultivars), which represented between 29% and 38% of the total production. The response of gs to Ψ was different among cultivars but all cultivars exhibited a strong decline when Ψ was <−1.0 MP. Shoot water potential evaluated in October–November was negatively correlated with δ13C and δ18O in shoot biomass. The apparent water use efficiency (kg DM/ha/mm of rainfall) across the nine cultivars was highest in Cauquenes in the three years evaluated (>16 kg mm−1). It is concluded that alfalfa is a high yielding forage that can extend the growing season into early summer and autumn in dryland Mediterranean environments. |
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| Keywords: | Carbon isotope composition Oxygen isotope Plant water potential Stomatal conductance Soil water content |
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