The effectiveness of nodulation of a wide range of lucerne cultivars

Abstract

The effectiveness of nodulation of a wide range of lucerne cultivars-growing in a sandy soil and inoculated with a commercial preparation of inoculum-varied widely, and problems appeared In two distinct groups of cultivars. The first group comprised cultivars derived at least partly from the M. falcata genotype, and with these there were problems both of ensuring nodulation and in the level of effectiveness. The second group included winter-active cultivars from around the Mediterranean Basin, among which were African and Hairy Peruvian. All plants were well nodulated, and the level of effectiveness appeared to be the only problem. Although the effect on yields was smaller in the second group than in the first, it is nevertheless one which anyone engaged on the production of improved lucerne cultivars from these potentially very useful genotypes must resolve.