Biomass, persistence and drought resistance of nine lucerne varieties in the dry environment of west China
Zheng Gang Guo A B , Hui Xia Liu A , Suo Min Wang A C , Fu Ping Tian A and Guo-Dong Cheng BA Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystem Ministry of Agriculture, College of Pastoral Agricultural Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou City 730020, People’s Republic of China.
B State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, CAS, Lanzhou City 730000, People’s Republic of China.
C Corresponding author. Email: smwang@lzu.edu.cn; zhenggangguo200@hotmail.com
Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 45(1) 59-64 https://doi.org/10.1071/EA03119
Submitted: 16 June 2003 Accepted: 12 May 2004 Published: 21 February 2005
Abstract
Forage yield and density are common selection criteria for assessing the suitability of lucerne varieties in high rainfall conditions and under irrigation. However, selection criteria for assessing the suitability of lucerne varieties is not well defined in dryland farming systems. This study combines forage yield, plant density, root biomass and proline content in the plant leaf to compare the suitability of 1 local and 8 introduced lucerne (Medicago sativa) varieties over 3 years in the dry environment of west China. The results of this study indicated that the above measurements significantly differed among the 9 lucerne varieties, and also showed that suitability of lucerne varieties varied based on different indicators. Ameristand 201 and Algonquin performed well in terms of forage yield. Ameristand 201 and Sandili were well-adapted varieties based on root biomass and Ameristand 201 was the first selected variety in terms of drought resistance. Combining initial establishment density and its decline over years indicated that Sandili maintained good persistence. A cluster analysis of 9 lucerne varieties indicated that Ameristand 201 was very suitable for sowing in the dry Loess Plateau, a high water-erosion region in west China.
Additional keywords: density, forage yield, lucerne varieties, proline content, root biomass, suitability.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by Project of Natural Science Foundation of China (30270947) and the National Science and Technology Plan Key Project of China (2001BA901A18). We also acknowledge China Western Pratacultural Engineering Co. for providing seeds of introduced varieties and Gansu Pasture Ecological Research Institute for providing the local varieties seed.
Bai WM,
Zuo Q, Huang YF
(2001) Effect of water supply on root growth and water uptake of lucerne in Wulanbuhe sandy region. Acta Phyoecological Sinica 25, 35–41.
Barker DJ,
Sullivian CY, Moser LE
(1993) Water deficit effects on osmotic potential, cell wall elasticity, and proline in five forage grasses. Agronomy Journal 85, 270–275.
Brummer EC, Moore KJ
(2000) Persistence of perennial cool-season grass and legumes cultivars under continuous grazing by beef cattle. Agronomy Journal 96, 466–471.
CAS
(2003) Several suggestions on further implementation of the central authorities’ directive on farmland to be returned to their vegetation of forests (or pastureland). Bulletin of the Chinese Academy of Sciences 18, 8–11.
Casper BB, Jackson RB
(1997) Plant competition underground. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 23, 241–570.
Cunningham SM,
Gana JA,
Volenec JJ, Teuber LR
(2001) Winter hardiness, root physiology, and gene expression in successive fall dormancy selections from ‘Mesilla’ and ‘CUF101’ alfalfa. Crop Science 41, 1091–1098.
Davies SL, Peoples MB
(2003) Identifying potential approaches to improve the reliability of terminating a lucerne pasture before cropping: a review. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 43, 429–447.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Frosheiser FI, Barnes DK
(1973) Field and greenhouse selection for PRR resistance in lucerne. Crop Science 13, 735–738.
Gan YT,
Miller PR,
McConkey BG,
Zentner RP,
Liu PH, McDonald CL
(2003) Optimum plant population density for chickpea and dry pea in a semiarid environment. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 83, 1–9.
Guan J, Nutter FW
(2002) Relationships between percentage defoliation, dry weight, percentage reflectance, leaf-to-stem ratio, and green leaf area index in the alfalfa leaf spot pathosystem. Crop Science 42, 1264–1273.
Guines F,
Julier B,
Ecalle C, Huyghe X
(2003) Among and within-cultivar variability for histological traits of lucerne (Medicago sativa) stem. Euphytica 130, 293–301.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Guo ZG,
Liu HX,
Wang YR,
Wang SM, Cheng GD
(2004) Suitability of lucerne cultivars, with respect to root development, to semi-arid conditions in west China. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 44, 51–59.
Guo ZG,
Zhang ZH, Hou FJ
(2002) Study on root system development ability of several lucerne varieties in hills and valleys of loess plateau. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology 13, 1007–1012.
| PubMed |
Harda S,
Handa AK, Hasegawa PM , et al.
(1986) Proline accumulation and the suitability of cultured plant cells to water stress. Plant Physiology 80, 938–945.
Hendrickson JR, Berdahl JD
(2003) Survival of 16 alfalfa populations space planted into a grassland. Journal of Rangeland Management 56, 260–265.
Hong FZ,
Wu YS, Yu KF
(1987) Study on the introduction of creeping-rooted lucerne. Pratacultural Science of China 4(1), 1–4.
Jackson RB,
Mooney HA, Schulze ED
(1997) A global budget for fine root biomass, surface area, and nutrient contents. Ecology 94, 7362–7366.
Johnson LD,
Marquez-Ortiz JJ,
Lamb JFS, Barnes DK
(1998) Root morphology of alfalfa plant introductions and cultivars. Crop Science 38, 497–502.
Irwin JAG,
Lloyd DL, Lowe KF
(2001) Lucerne biology and genetic improvement — an analysis of past activities and future goals in Australia. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 699–712.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Li B,
Jia XF,
Bai QW,
Bai QW, Tang YH
(2003) Effect of drought stress on proline accumulation of alfalfa. Bulletin of Botanical Research 23, 189–191.
Liu ZL,
Liu HX, Liu XP
(2002) Comparison on anti-dry in seedling stage of different Mung bean Breeds. Journal of Inner Mongolia University for Nationalities 17, 33–39.
Lowe KF,
Gramshaw D,
Bowdler TM,
Clem RL, Collyer BG
(1987) Yield, persistence and field disease assessment of lucerne cultivars and lines under irrigation in the Queensland subtropics. Tropical Grassland 21, 168–181.
Ma QD,
Gao ZS, Hong FZ
(1999) Evaluation and selection of root development ability of different local lucerne varieties. Acta Pratacultural Sinica 8, 42–49.
McCallum MH,
Connor DJ, O’Leary GJ
(2001) Water use by lucerne and effect on the crops in the Victorian Wimmera. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 52, 193–201.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
McIntosh MS, Miller DA
(1980) Development of root-branching in three lucerne varietiess. Crop Science 20, 807–809.
Nie L,
Liu HX, Peng SL
(2001) Enhancement of drought resistance in Pomelo seedling by CPPU. Chinese Bulletin of Botany 18, 90–95.
Niu FX,
Hua XX, Guo XD
(1996) Studies on several physiological indexes of the drought resistance of sweet potato and its comprehensive evaluation. Acta Agronomica Sinica 22, 392–398.
Peterson PR,
Sheaffer CC, Hall MH
(1992) Drought effects on perennial forage legume yield and quality. Agronomy Journal 84, 774–779.
Rasse DP,
Smucker AJM, Santos D
(2000) Alfalfa root and shoot mulching effects on soil hydraulic properties and aggregation. Soil Science Society of America Journal 64, 725–731.
Ren JH, Hou FJ
(2002) Vital issues related to grass planting in western China. Pratacultural Science 19, 1–6.
Ren WW,
Qian J, Ma J , et al.
(2000) Comparative study of leymus chinensis’s water content and free proline of different geographic populations under the forces of different concentration PEG. Acta Ecologica Sinica 20, 351–355.
Riday H, Brummer EC
(2002) Heterosis of agronomic traits in alfalfa. Crop Science 42, 1081–1087.
Saeed IAM, El-Nadi AH
(1997) Irrigation effects on the growth yield and water use efficiency of alfalfa. Irrigation Science 17, 63–68.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Singh TN,
Aspinall D, Palag LG
(1972) Proline accumulation and varieties suitability to drought in barley: a potential metabolic feature of drought resistance. Nature: New Biology 236, 188–190.
| PubMed |
Smith SE, Bouton JH
(1993) Selection within alfalfa cultivars for persistence under continuous stocking. Crop Science 33, 1321–1328.
Sun Y,
Yang QC, Zhang YH
(2001) Studies on drought tolerance of eight turfgrass cultivars at seedling stage. Acta Agrestia Sinica 9, 16–21.
Viands DR
(1988) Variability and selection for characters associated with root regeneration capability in lucerne. Crop Science 28, 232–236.
Zhang MY,
Qian J, Zhen SZ
(2001) studies On free proline and soluble sugar of wild soybeans (Glycine soja) under osmotic stress. Journal of Fudan University. Natural Science 40, 558–562.
Zhou JX,
Liu JX, Chen SY
(2002) Introduction of turfgrass drought resistance. Pratacultural Science 19, 61–66.
