YIELD AND QUALITY PERFORMANCES OF VARIOUS ALFALFA (Medicago sativa L.) CULTIVARS IN DIFFERENT SOIL TEXTURES IN A MEDITERRANEAN ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

A field trial was conducted at the experimental fields of Ege University in Bornova and Odemis in 2006 and 2007. The effects of two soil textures (heavy and light) and four cultivars (TT-2008, TT-2009, P-5683 and Elci) on the yield and chemical compositions of some alfalfa cultivars were evaluated under the Mediterranean climatic conditions. The experimental design was a Randomized Complete Blocks with four replications. Results indicated that, the effects of soil texture on yield and quality traits of crop material were significant. TT-2008 and P-5683 alfalfa cultivars had better performances than the other cultivars with regard to yield (fresh herbage, dry matter and crude protein) and quality (contents of dry matter, crude protein, crude ash, ADF and NDF values) characteristics. The overall mean of alfalfa yield at light textured soil condition was significantly higher as compared to the heavy textured soil.