Effect of low seed rate on seed and forage yield of alfalfa in the River Nile State, sudan
2005
Tambal, H. A. A.(Hudieba Research Station, River Nile State (Sudan)) | Khair, M. A. M.(National Coordinatore of Forage and Pasture Research Porogram, ARTC (Sudan ))
An no-farm survey of plant populatioon of one year old, yet highly productive alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) swarde in Khatroum North area, reveald that the plant population afetr one year from establishment, was equal to the resulting from a seed rate of 1.5Kg/ha (i.e 2.8% of the sown seeds) . This sugested that the optimum seed rate for the production of each of the forage and seed alfalaf in Sudan should be reconsidered. In this context, an experimenet was conducted at Hudieba Resaerch Station for three years during the period of Dec. 4995-January 1998 to study the time course forage and seed yield patterns of alfalfa sown with five low seed artes (i.e., 2.4, 8.4, 7.2, 9.6 and 12Kg/ha). The results indicated that the highest seed rate (12Kg/ha) product the highest forage yield in a few cuts only. The variation among the time course forage yield of the various seed artes over the two years were either nosignificant or erratic. The cumulative annual forage yield of the two higher seed rates, (9.6 and 12 Kg/ha) was nivariably higher than those of the other seed rates. For seed yield , the lowest seed rates(i.e., 2.4 Kg/ha)resulted in the highest seed yield in the first two seed production cycles (SPc) in 1996 as well as in the anuual total of the fiesrt year. Differences among the seed rates in other SPCs as well as the anuual total of 1997 were either lacking or eratic. It is therefore, concluded that ofr dual purpose (forage and seed) alfalfa, the seed rate should not exceed 9.6 Kg/ha and for seed production the seed rates of 2.4 Kg/ha is the optimum
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