Componentes del Rendimiento en Variedades De Alfalfa (Medicago Sativa L.)

Abstract

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is the most important legume forage for dairy cattle feed in Mexico. The objective of this study was to assess the productive response of five varieties of alfalfa in cutting intervals defined seasonally. Our hypothesis was that the San Miguelito variety is the most productive among the evaluated varieties. The varieties San Miguelito, Júpiter, Atlixco, Vía láctea and Cuf 101 were randomly distributed in 20 experimental plots of 12¿9 m, in a completely randomized blocks design with four replications. Evaluations included yield feed, leaf:stem ratio, weight per stem, stem population per m2, plant population per m2 and botanical and morphological composition. Júpiter and Cuf 101 showed the highest yield (20 275 and 13 350 kg MS ha¿1). Leaf:stem ratio was higher in Cuf 101 and smaller in Júpiter. The weight per stem was higher in Júpiter and lower in Cuf 101.