IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jagris/v5y2015i3p577-597d53323.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Nutrient Composition, Forage Parameters, and Antioxidant Capacity of Alfalfa ( Medicago sativa , L.) in Response to Saline Irrigation Water

Author

Listed:
  • Jorge F. S. Ferreira

    (US Salinity Laboratory, 450 W. Big Springs Rd., Riverside, CA 92507, USA)

  • Monica V. Cornacchione

    (US Salinity Laboratory, 450 W. Big Springs Rd., Riverside, CA 92507, USA
    Currently at INTA- Estaci
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Xuan Liu

    (US Salinity Laboratory, 450 W. Big Springs Rd., Riverside, CA 92507, USA
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Donald L. Suarez

    (US Salinity Laboratory, 450 W. Big Springs Rd., Riverside, CA 92507, USA
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

Abstract

Although alfalfa is moderately tolerant of salinity, the effects of salinity on nutrient composition and forage parameters are poorly understood. In addition, there are no data on the effect of salinity on the antioxidant capacity of alfalfa. We evaluated four non-dormant, salinity-tolerant commercial cultivars, irrigated with saline water with electrical conductivities of 3.1, 7.2, 12.7, 18.4, 24.0, and 30.0 dS·m −1 , designed to simulate drainage waters from the California Central Valley. Alfalfa shoots were evaluated for nutrient composition, forage parameters, and antioxidant capacity. Salinity significantly increased shoot N, P, Mg, and S, but decreased Ca and K. Alfalfa micronutrients were also affected by salinity, but to a lesser extent. Na and Cl increased significantly with increasing salinity. Salinity slightly improved forage parameters by significantly increasing crude protein, the net energy of lactation, and the relative feed value. All cultivars maintained their antioxidant capacity regardless of salinity level. The results indicate that alfalfa can tolerate moderate to high salinity while maintaining nutrient composition, antioxidant capacity, and slightly improved forage parameters, thus meeting the standards required for dairy cattle feed.

Suggested Citation

  • Jorge F. S. Ferreira & Monica V. Cornacchione & Xuan Liu & Donald L. Suarez, 2015. "Nutrient Composition, Forage Parameters, and Antioxidant Capacity of Alfalfa ( Medicago sativa , L.) in Response to Saline Irrigation Water," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-21, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:5:y:2015:i:3:p:577-597:d:53323
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/5/3/577/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/5/3/577/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Suyama, H. & Benes, S.E. & Robinson, P.H. & Grattan, S.R. & Grieve, C.M. & Getachew, G., 2007. "Forage yield and quality under irrigation with saline-sodic drainage water: Greenhouse evaluation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 88(1-3), pages 159-172, March.
    2. Grattan, S. R. & Grieve, C. M. & Poss, J. A. & Robinson, P. H. & Suarez, D. L. & Benes, S. E., 2004. "Evaluation of salt-tolerant forages for sequential water reuse systems: I. Biomass production," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 109-120, November.
    3. Unknown, 2010. "Graduate School Agricultural Economics," 2010 Conference: Modern management challenges in the agro-food sector, March 18-19, Pivola, Slovenia 183903, Slovenian Association of Agricultural Economists (DAES).
    4. Unknown, 2004. "Annual Meeting of Agricultural Economists," Amber Waves:The Economics of Food, Farming, Natural Resources, and Rural America, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, pages 1-2, September.
    5. Grattan, S.R. & Grieve, C.M. & Poss, J.A. & Robinson, P.H. & Suarez, D.L. & Benes, S.E., 2004. "Evaluation of salt-tolerant forages for sequential water reuse systems: III. Potential implications for ruminant mineral nutrition," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 137-150, November.
    6. Grieve, C.M. & Poss, J.A. & Grattan, S.R. & Suarez, D.L. & Benes, S.E. & Robinson, P.H., 2004. "Evaluation of salt-tolerant forages for sequential water reuse systems: II. Plant-ion relations," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 121-135, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yuan Qiu & Yamin Wang & Yaqiong Fan & Xinmei Hao & Sien Li & Shaozhong Kang, 2023. "Root, Yield, and Quality of Alfalfa Affected by Soil Salinity in Northwest China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-17, March.
    2. Petru Alexandru Vlaicu & Arabela Elena Untea & Raluca Paula Turcu & Mihaela Saracila & Iulia Varzaru & Alexandra Gabriela Oancea, 2023. "Chemical composition of dietary alfalfa and its effectiveness on broiler chicken thigh meat quality," Czech Journal of Food Sciences, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 41(4), pages 279-286.
    3. Hu, Yanzhe & Kang, Shaozhong & Ding, Risheng & Zhao, Qing, 2021. "A crude protein and fiber model of alfalfa incorporating growth age under water and salt stress," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    4. Cory Matthew & Lilian Elgalise Techio Pereira, 2017. "Forage Plant Ecophysiology: A Discipline Come of Age," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 7(8), pages 1-9, July.
    5. Díaz, F.J. & Grattan, S.R. & Reyes, J.A. & de la Roza-Delgado, B. & Benes, S.E. & Jiménez, C. & Dorta, M. & Tejedor, M., 2018. "Using saline soil and marginal quality water to produce alfalfa in arid climates," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 11-21.
    6. Jorge F. S. Ferreira & Xuan Liu & Stella Ribeiro Prazeres Suddarth & Christina Nguyen & Devinder Sandhu, 2022. "NaCl Accumulation, Shoot Biomass, Antioxidant Capacity, and Gene Expression of Passiflora edulis f. Flavicarpa Deg. in Response to Irrigation Waters of Moderate to High Salinity," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-14, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Díaz, F.J. & Grattan, S.R. & Reyes, J.A. & de la Roza-Delgado, B. & Benes, S.E. & Jiménez, C. & Dorta, M. & Tejedor, M., 2018. "Using saline soil and marginal quality water to produce alfalfa in arid climates," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 11-21.
    2. Díaz, F.J. & Benes, S.E. & Grattan, S.R., 2013. "Field performance of halophytic species under irrigation with saline drainage water in the San Joaquin Valley of California," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 59-69.
    3. Máximo F. Alonso & Dennis L. Corwin & James D. Oster & John Maas & Stephen R. Kaffka, 2013. "Modeling a Sustainable Salt Tolerant Grass-Livestock Production System under Saline Conditions in the Western San Joaquin Valley of California," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(9), pages 1-19, September.
    4. Benes, S.E. & Adhikari, D.D. & Grattan, S.R. & Snyder, R.L., 2012. "Evapotranspiration potential of forages irrigated with saline-sodic drainage water," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 1-7.
    5. Shital Poudyal & Valtcho D. Zheljazkov, 2021. "Irrigation with Coalbed Methane Co-Produced Water Reduces Forage Yield and Increases Soil Sodicity However Does Not Impact Forage Quality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-11, March.
    6. 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.
    7. Wei Li & Junliang Yin & Dongfang Ma & Qi Zheng & Hongwei Li & Jianlin Wang & Maolin Zhao & Xiaojing Liu & Zhensheng Li, 2023. "Acceptable Salinity Level for Saline Water Irrigation of Tall Wheatgrass in Edaphoclimatic Scenarios of the Coastal Saline–Alkaline Land around Bohai Sea," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-19, November.
    8. Saadat, Saeed & Homaee, Mehdi, 2015. "Modeling sorghum response to irrigation water salinity at early growth stage," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 119-124.
    9. Suyama, H. & Benes, S.E. & Robinson, P.H. & Grattan, S.R. & Grieve, C.M. & Getachew, G., 2007. "Forage yield and quality under irrigation with saline-sodic drainage water: Greenhouse evaluation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 88(1-3), pages 159-172, March.
    10. Elgallal, M. & Fletcher, L. & Evans, B., 2016. "Assessment of potential risks associated with chemicals in wastewater used for irrigation in arid and semiarid zones: A review," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 419-431.
    11. da Fonseca, Adriel Ferreira & Melfi, Adolpho Jose & Monteiro, Francisco Antonio & Montes, Celia Regina & Almeida, Vagner Vidal de & Herpin, Uwe, 2007. "Treated sewage effluent as a source of water and nitrogen for Tifton 85 bermudagrass," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 87(3), pages 328-336, February.
    12. Qadir, M. & Sharma, B.R. & Bruggeman, A. & Choukr-Allah, R. & Karajeh, F., 2007. "Non-conventional water resources and opportunities for water augmentation to achieve food security in water scarce countries," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 2-22, January.
    13. Grattan, S.R. & Grieve, C.M. & Poss, J.A. & Robinson, P.H. & Suarez, D.L. & Benes, S.E., 2004. "Evaluation of salt-tolerant forages for sequential water reuse systems: III. Potential implications for ruminant mineral nutrition," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 137-150, November.
    14. Christopher Onosemuode & Tega L. Ataikiru & Osayomwanbor E. Oghama, 2016. "Assessment of Water Suitability for Irrigation in Keffi, Nasarawa State, Nigeria," International Journal of Sciences, Office ijSciences, vol. 5(07), pages 11-19, July.
    15. Ayars, James E. & Shouse, Peter & Lesch, Scott M., 2009. "In situ use of groundwater by alfalfa," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(11), pages 1579-1586, November.
    16. J. Jed Brown & Probir Das & Mohammad Al-Saidi, 2018. "Sustainable Agriculture in the Arabian/Persian Gulf Region Utilizing Marginal Water Resources: Making the Best of a Bad Situation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-16, April.
    17. Steffen Schuldenzucker & Sven Seuken & Stefano Battiston, 2017. "The Computational Complexity of Financial Networks with Credit Default Swaps," Papers 1710.01578, arXiv.org, revised May 2019.
    18. Johnston, Christopher R. & Vance, George F. & Ganjegunte, Girisha K., 2008. "Irrigation with coalbed natural gas co-produced water," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 95(11), pages 1243-1252, November.
    19. Kim, Karl & Burnett, Kimberly & Ghimire, Jiwnath, 2015. "Assessing the potential for food and energy self-sufficiency on the island of Kauai, Hawaii," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 44-51.
    20. Sincoff, Michael Z. & Slonaker, William M. & Wendt, Ann C., 2006. "Retaliation: The form of 21st century employment discrimination," Business Horizons, Elsevier, vol. 49(6), pages 443-450.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:5:y:2015:i:3:p:577-597:d:53323. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.