Performances of Some Perennial Warm Season Grasses Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) Mixtures under Mediterranean Conditions

Abstract

This research was conducted to determine forage yield and botanical composition of duo (alfalfa + one grass) and trio (alfalfa + two grasses) mixtures of some warm season perennial grass species such as dallis grass (Paspalum dilatatum Poir.), Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana L.), Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.) Guineae grass (Panicum maximum Jacq.), blue couch grass (Digitaria didactyla Willd) and finger grass (Digitaria milanjiana (Rendle) Stapf) with alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) as well as their pure sowings under irrigated conditions of Mediterranean during the years of 2011 and 2012. In the study, green herbage yield, dry matter yield, alfalfa proportion in dry matter yields and land equivalent ratio (LER) were determined. The experimental design was completely randomized block design with three replications. According to the results, it was determined that the ratios of warm season grasses in the botanical composition of the mixtures declined with the establishment age while rate of alfalfa in the botanical composition of the mixtures increased. Increasing the rate of alfalfa in the botanical composition of the mixtures also increased hay quality of the mixtures. The mixtures gave higher dry matter yield than pure sowings of the species. The highest green herbage yield (98.14 t ha 1) was obtained from the mixture of Rhodes grass + alfalfa. The highest dry matter yield (22.46 t ha 1) was obtained from the mixture of dallis grass + Guinea grass + alfalfa. The highest value of land equivalent ratio (LER) (1.49) was obtained from the mixture of bermuda grass +Rhodes grass + alfalfa. From the results of the study, it was concluded that Guinea grass and finger grass did not show good adaptaion to the Cukurova conditions due to low temperatures during the winter season. Bermuda grass, Rhodes grass, blue couch grass and dallis grass could be used to establish pasture mixtures with alfalfa, having long grazing season and giving high hay yield and quality. Before the establishment of such pasture mixtures, it was needed to research proper mixture ratios and proper management techniques of the mixtures.

The antimicrobial, antibiofilm, and wound healing properties of ethyl acetate crude extract of an endophytic fungus Paecilomyces sp. (AUMC 15510) in earthworm model

“…5 a) showed the longitudinal section of the earthworm's normal structure composed of cuticle, epidermis, and circular and longitudinal muscles. The annelid epidermis is a monolayered epithelium that includes glandular, ciliated, behind, and sensory cells encased in a collagen fiber-based cuticle 75 . Figures 5 and 6 showed the comparison between the PsEAE -treated groups 3, 4, and 5 and the untreated group 2.…”

Improving Yield and Quality in Spring-Sown Alfalfa With Annual Companion Crops

“…Therefore, it has an important role in forage productivity, profitability and, also can be significant contribution to agricultural sustainability as low-input and environmentally-friendly system. Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is perennial legume grown worldwide as forage for its high yield, quality, nutritional value and adaptability (Cinar et al, 2014;Cinar and Hatipoglu, 2015). In Turkey, alfalfa is the most cultivated forage crop, grown on 662.046 hectare with the share of 35.5%, but it is mostly grown as sole crop.…”