Forums
New posts
Forum list
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New resources
Latest activity
Trending Threads
Resources
Latest reviews
Search resources
FarmTV
Farm Compare
Search
Tokens/Searches
Calendar
Upcoming Events
Members
Registered members
Current visitors
New Resources
New posts
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Forum list
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Navigation
Install the app
Install
More options
Contact us
Close Menu
Forums
Agricultural Media
News, PR, Shows and Events
Countryside Seeds Ltd
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Great In Grass" data-source="post: 6139188" data-attributes="member: 79"><p><span style="font-size: 22px"><strong>Alfalfa/Lucerne – Queen of Forage Crops and King of Drought Tolerance</strong></span></p><p></p><p><img src="https://european-seed.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Alfalfa_Cut_Insiders_March_2019.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Posted on March 8th, 2019 by <a href="https://european-seed.com/author/kknielsen/" target="_blank">Klaus K. Nielsen</a></p><p><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong>Chief Scientific Officer, DLF</strong></span></p><p></p><p>Alfalfa is one of the few perennial (3-5 years) highly drought tolerance forage crops. When the going gets tough for most forages under drought – alfalfa keeps going. 2018 brought strong attention to crops, which keep producing under drought alleviating the economic impact of forage deficit.</p><p></p><p><strong>Extending the growing zone for alfalfa</strong></p><p>Plant breeding has increased focus on protein content and yield in many species. Increased interest for <u>homegrown protein </u>(autonomy), care about <u>soil structure </u>and <u>soil microbiome</u>, warning signs of more <u>frequent summer drought</u>, are all factors leading to more interest of alfalfa outside the traditional growing areas.</p><p></p><p><strong>Higher in protein content- and yield per ha</strong></p><p>Notwithstanding the observed negative correlation between dry matter yield and protein content in legume breeding, alfalfa breeders have managed to make progress for both traits = Increased protein yield per ha and increased protein per feeding unit. Alfalfa protein yield per ha even surpasses that of soybean.</p><p></p><p><strong>Breeding and seed technology have made alfalfa growth easier and profitable</strong></p><p>Most alfalfa seeds are now proposed pre-inoculated with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, ready for drilling without additional operations or costs. The harvest window, which is the optimum time for cutting alfalfa, has been extended through breeding for lodging tolerance. The extra days/week can make the difference.</p><p></p><p><strong>A “must” for organic farming</strong></p><p>Alfalfa can be sown with narrow row spacing to increase competition with weeds or with wider row spacing for easier mechanical weed control. The huge improvement in soil structure and the fixated nitrogen release to the following crops (progressively over three years) makes alfalfa a great companion inorganic farming.</p><p></p><p><strong>It’s all about rooting</strong></p><p>The deep alfalfa roots are the explanation of many of the superior traits of alfalfa. The deep rooting ensures survival when water becomes scarce in the upper soil layers and contributes to the persistency. Our company has increased focus on roots and rooting via the root screening facility RadiMax, where scientist can monitor and identify breeding lines with the highest rooting potential.</p><p></p><p><strong>Extracting proteins from the forage opens new perspectives</strong></p><p>Together with University researchers and other industrial partners, DLF is actively participating in projects aiming at isolating grass- and legume-based proteins for monogastric animals. The first results are very promising, showing both high yields of extractable proteins as well as fibre pulp fractions with even higher feed intake in dairy cows than traditionally conserved forage.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Great In Grass, post: 6139188, member: 79"] [SIZE=6][B]Alfalfa/Lucerne – Queen of Forage Crops and King of Drought Tolerance[/B][/SIZE] [IMG]https://european-seed.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Alfalfa_Cut_Insiders_March_2019.jpg[/IMG] Posted on March 8th, 2019 by [URL='https://european-seed.com/author/kknielsen/']Klaus K. Nielsen[/URL] [SIZE=4][B]Chief Scientific Officer, DLF[/B][/SIZE] Alfalfa is one of the few perennial (3-5 years) highly drought tolerance forage crops. When the going gets tough for most forages under drought – alfalfa keeps going. 2018 brought strong attention to crops, which keep producing under drought alleviating the economic impact of forage deficit. [B]Extending the growing zone for alfalfa[/B] Plant breeding has increased focus on protein content and yield in many species. Increased interest for [U]homegrown protein [/U](autonomy), care about [U]soil structure [/U]and [U]soil microbiome[/U], warning signs of more [U]frequent summer drought[/U], are all factors leading to more interest of alfalfa outside the traditional growing areas. [B]Higher in protein content- and yield per ha[/B] Notwithstanding the observed negative correlation between dry matter yield and protein content in legume breeding, alfalfa breeders have managed to make progress for both traits = Increased protein yield per ha and increased protein per feeding unit. Alfalfa protein yield per ha even surpasses that of soybean. [B]Breeding and seed technology have made alfalfa growth easier and profitable[/B] Most alfalfa seeds are now proposed pre-inoculated with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, ready for drilling without additional operations or costs. The harvest window, which is the optimum time for cutting alfalfa, has been extended through breeding for lodging tolerance. The extra days/week can make the difference. [B]A “must” for organic farming[/B] Alfalfa can be sown with narrow row spacing to increase competition with weeds or with wider row spacing for easier mechanical weed control. The huge improvement in soil structure and the fixated nitrogen release to the following crops (progressively over three years) makes alfalfa a great companion inorganic farming. [B]It’s all about rooting[/B] The deep alfalfa roots are the explanation of many of the superior traits of alfalfa. The deep rooting ensures survival when water becomes scarce in the upper soil layers and contributes to the persistency. Our company has increased focus on roots and rooting via the root screening facility RadiMax, where scientist can monitor and identify breeding lines with the highest rooting potential. [B]Extracting proteins from the forage opens new perspectives[/B] Together with University researchers and other industrial partners, DLF is actively participating in projects aiming at isolating grass- and legume-based proteins for monogastric animals. The first results are very promising, showing both high yields of extractable proteins as well as fibre pulp fractions with even higher feed intake in dairy cows than traditionally conserved forage. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Agricultural Media
News, PR, Shows and Events
Countryside Seeds Ltd
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn more…
Top