Products » Forage crops

Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Novi Sad

ALFALFA (Medicago sativa L.)

The cultivar was developed by individual selection (the polycross method) from a local population of Pannonian alfalfa.
It has a high genetic potential for yield of hay, up to 27 t/ha.
The cultivar is early, it has rapid regrowth after cutting and it is tolerant to frequent cutting.
It is tolerant to drought and resistant to low temperature.
Under rainfed conditions, it produces about 84 t/ha of green forage or 18 t/ha of hay.
The average yields of crude proteins and crude cellulose in dry matter are 19.8 % and 22.2 %, respectively.

The cultivar was developed by individual selection from local populations and interspecific hybridization between blue and yellow alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. x Medicago falcata L).
The variety requires fertile soils, but it also grows well on heavy hydromorphic soils.
The genetic yield potential for yield of hay is 27 t/ha.
Very resistant to low temperature, medium resistant to lodging and major diseases.
Fast regrowth, tolerant to frequent cuttings. In normal years it produces about 80 t/ha of green forage or 20 t/ha of hay.
The average yields of crude proteins and crude cellulose in dry matter are 19.4 % and 22.1 %, respectively.

The cultivar was developed by individual selection from a local population.
The stem is tender and overgrown with leaves, 90 to 130 cm in height.
It is either intercropped with winter barley, wheat or oats, using 120 kg/ha of vetch seed and 30-35 kg/ha of cereal seed, or it is grown as a pure crop.
If harvested at the time of full flowering or the formation of first seed pods, it produces 40 t/ha of green forage or 8 t/ha of hay, with the crude protein content in dry matter of about 22 %.
Such harvest leaves sufficient time for a double crop.
The cultivar was officially released in Greece in the year 2000.

The cultivar was developed by pedigree method of selection from a hybrid population.
It is utilised in feeding ruminants in the form of green forage, hay, silage or haylage, as well as in the form of green manures, especially in orchards and vineyards.
It is characterised by thin, slender and rather leafy stems that are long about 100-120 cm.
It is sown in late February and early March, alone or in mixtures with spring cultivars of barley, wheat or oat, with a ratio of 70-75% of vetch and 25-30% of small grain or a seed quantity of about 120 kg ha^-1 of vetch and 30-35 kg of small grain.
It has a considerable tolerance to late spring frosts and drought.
If cut at the stages of full flowering and forming of the first pods, it produces yields of about 35-40 t ha^-1 of green forage and 7-8 t ha^-1 of hay, with an average content of crude protein of about 20%.

The cultivar was developed by selection from a hybrid progeny of forage sorghum and Sudan grass.
It is characterised by good tillering, good regeneration and a good resistance to drought and prevailing sorghum diseases.
It is suitable for growing in all types of forage crop rotations and in all sowing schedules. It is an excellent carbo-hydrate feed.
The average green forage yield is 70 t ha^-1 and up to 100 t ha^-1, with three cuttings per year.
The first cutting is about 50 days after the emergence, while the second and the third cuttings are six weeks later. Its regeneration is good if it is cut before the stage of panicle emergence and with a cutting height of between 10 cm and 12 cm above ground.

The cultivar is characterised by good tillering and excellent regeneration, as well as by a possibility of sowing in several schedules.
It is resistant to dominant diseases and lodging. It is successfully grown in all regions where maize is cultivated.
As an excellent carbo-hydrate feed, it is utilised most often as green forage and siloforage.
If stand is denser and at certain stages of development, it can be utilised as hay. With 3 or 4 cuttings per year, it produces annual yields of about 80 t ha^-1 of green forage and 15 t ha^-1 of hay.