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Effects of alternate furrow irrigation on the biomass and quality of alfalfa (Medicago sativa)

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  • Xiao, Yu
  • Zhang, Jing
  • Jia, Ting Ting
  • Pang, Xiao Pan
  • Guo, Zheng Gang

Abstract

Alternate furrow irrigation is considered a water-saving technique to improve water use efficiency without considerable yield reduction in horticultural crops and field crops. We investigated the effects of alternate furrow irrigation on the biomass and quality of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) in this study. A field experiment was designed with two irrigation modes (alternate furrow irrigation-AFI and conventional irrigation-CI) and four irrigation volumes (70%-I1, 85%-I2, 100%-I3 and 115%-I4 of alfalfa water requirement (ET)). Alternate furrow irrigation increased the water use efficiency based on the total biomass and aboveground biomass of alfalfa by 40–46% and 36–42%, respectively. This approach maintained comparable aboveground biomass at the first and the second harvest times but significantly decreased the aboveground biomass at the third harvest time, which contributed to the seasonal drop in aboveground biomass compared to conventional irrigation. Alternate furrow irrigation increased the number of branches per plant, but decreased the leaf numbers per plant at the first harvest time and the plant height at the second harvest time. This trade-off was comparable to the aboveground biomass at the first and the second harvest times compared to conventional irrigation. Meanwhile, the reduction in plant height and leaf numbers per plant caused by alternate furrow irrigation at the third harvest time contributed to the aboveground drop in biomass. The results also demonstrated that alternate furrow irrigation increased the root biomass and root volume, which reduced the ratio of aboveground biomass to root biomass and decreased the stem-to-leaf ratio compared to conventional irrigation. Our findings indicate that alternate furrow irrigation not only increases the water use efficiency of alfalfa without trading off aboveground biomass before the second harvest time but also improves the forage quality of alfalfa in the study region.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiao, Yu & Zhang, Jing & Jia, Ting Ting & Pang, Xiao Pan & Guo, Zheng Gang, 2015. "Effects of alternate furrow irrigation on the biomass and quality of alfalfa (Medicago sativa)," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 147-154.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:161:y:2015:i:c:p:147-154
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2015.07.018
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhang, Jing & Wang, Qian & Pang, Xiao Pan & Xu, Hai Peng & Wang, Juan & Zhang, Wen Na & Guo, Zheng Gang, 2021. "Effect of partial root-zone drying irrigation (PRDI) on the biomass, water productivity and carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus allocations in different organs of alfalfa," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    2. Liu, Minguo & Wu, Xiaojuan & Yang, Huimin, 2022. "Evapotranspiration characteristics and soil water balance of alfalfa grasslands under regulated deficit irrigation in the inland arid area of Midwestern China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    3. Liu, Minguo & Wang, Zikui & Mu, Le & Xu, Rui & Yang, Huimin, 2021. "Effect of regulated deficit irrigation on alfalfa performance under two irrigation systems in the inland arid area of midwestern China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    4. Li, Jianshe & Gao, Yanming & Zhang, Xueyan & Tian, Ping & Li, Juan & Tian, Yongqiang, 2019. "Comprehensive comparison of different saline water irrigation strategies for tomato production: Soil properties, plant growth, fruit yield and fruit quality," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 521-533.
    5. Zhang, Jing & Chen, Ying Ying & Liu, Wen Hui & Guo, Zheng Gang, 2021. "Effect of alternate partial root-zone drying (PRD) on soil nitrogen availability to alfalfa," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    6. Wang, Yadong & Liu, Chun & Cui, Pengfei & Su, Derong, 2021. "Effects of partial root-zone drying on alfalfa growth, yield and quality under subsurface drip irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).

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