Effect of seed pelletting with organic manures and Rhizobia on the performance of two alfalfa cultivars grown in saline environment

A field and a pot experiments were conducted during 2013–2014 at Hada Al-Sham Experimental Farm of King Abdulaziz University. The site is located 40 km north east of Makah having natural saline condition for crop production. Alfalfa nodulation in this area have been reported ineffective. Therefore, in the current research strategy, seed pelleting was exploited to induce effective nodulation, and screen-out best cultivar for organic alfalfa production. In accordance with the project objective an exotic alfalfa cultivar (CUF 101) and a local one (Hegazi) were pelleted with poultry manure (PM) and cow manure (CM) alone or in combination with Rhizobium melilotti (R). Parameters measured during the experiment were on nodulation, plant height, leaf to stem ratio and dry forage yield. Results indicated significant differences (p < 0.05) between the treatments. Effectiveness of the treatments was in order of PM+R > CM+R > R > PM > CM > control for all parameters measured both in the pot and field experiments. The exotic cultivar Cuf 101 was superior over the local Hegazi in all parameters measured. It can be concluded that peletting of organic manures along with Rhizobia could induce alfalfa nodulation and production under such stress environment. Moreover, introduction of exotic cultivars with improved characters for salinity tolerance may be a better step in increasing forage productivity in such environment.