1College of Grassland, Resources and Environment, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Key Laboratory of Forage Cultivation, Processing and High Efficient Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Grassland Resources, Ministry of Education, Hohhot-010018, China
2Branch of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Qiqihar-161005, China
3Inner Mongolia, Prataculture Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hohhot-010018, China
*Corresponding Authors: Fugui Mi and Hong Li, College of Grassland, Resources and Environment, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Key Laboratory of Forage Cultivation, Processing and High Efficient Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Key Laboratory of Grassland Resources, Ministry of Education, Hohhot-010018, China
**Branch of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary of Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Qiqihar-161005, China, Email: mfguinm@163.com, hljlihong@163.com
Online published on 18 March, 2021.
Selection for fall dormancy (FD) in alfalfa can impact other traits, such as dry matter yield (DMY), winter survival rate (WSR) and chemical compositions. Nine alfalfa varieties were mowed during the early flowering stage from 2015 to 2018. The results showed that the WSRs of both Zhongmu No. 2 and Caoyuan No. 3 exceeded 95% and there was a significant negative correlation between the FD rating and WSR (−0.988; P<0.01). The four-year average DMY of Zhongmu No. 2 was the highest (11,912 kg ha−1). The crude protein contents of Caoyuan No. 3 and Zhongmu No. 2 were both greater than 20%. Zhongmu No. 2 had the lowest acid detergent fiber (30.2%) and neutral detergent fiber (48.4%) contents as well as the highest relative feed values (126). Zhongmu No. 2, Adrenalin, Gold Empress and Caoyuan No. 3 (FD 1–4) were the optimum alfalfa varieties for planting in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China.
Alfalfa, Fall dormancy, Forage quality, Winter survival rate, Yield
