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ARS Home » Midwest Area » St. Paul, Minnesota » Plant Science Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #409690
Research Project: Genetic Improvement and Cropping Systems of Alfalfa for Livestock Utilization, Environmental Protection and Soil Health

Location: Plant Science Research

Title: Alfalfa stem cell wall digestibility: current knowledge and future research directions

Author
item BHANDARI, KRISHNA - Tennessee State University
item RUSCH, HANNAH - University Of Minnesota
item Heuschele, Deborah - Jo

Submitted to: Agronomy
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/20/2023
Publication Date: 11/23/2023
Citation: Bhandari, K., Rusch, H., Heuschele, D.J. 2023. Alfalfa stem cell wall digestibility: current knowledge and future research directions. Agronomy. 13(12). Article 2875. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13122875.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13122875

Interpretive Summary: Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is considered as the most important forage legume with high biomass yield and nutritional quality for cattle. The alfalfa leaf cell walls are highly digestible, but stem cell walls of alfalfa are not. Cell walls in alfalfa can be used as a large source of dietary energy, but cattle can digest less than half because of lignin. The main goal of this review is to make a summary of existing knowledge of alfalfa cell wall development to suggest future directions for improving alfalfa stems for use as livestock feed.

Technical Abstract: Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is considered as the most important forage legume with high biomass yield and nutritional quality for ruminants. The alfalfa leaf cell walls are highly digestible, but stem cell walls of alfalfa are not readily digestible. The cell wall component of alfalfa has a large source of dietary energy, but ruminant animals can digest less than half of this component due to the presence of high lignin content. The main goal of this review is to make a summary of existing knowledge of alfalfa cell wall thickening and lignification patterns and suggest future directions for improving alfalfa stem cell wall digestibility. We describe alfalfa cell wall biochemistry, alfalfa stem morphology and stem tissue degradation, existing methods to improve alfalfa digestibility, and discuss the potential future strategies for improving alfalfa cell wall digestibility. Information on these will help alfalfa breeders and farmers identify superior alfalfa cultivars with improved stem cell wall digestibility. Concentrating future efforts on the selection and identification of traits and associated genes that affect cell wall digestibility could improve alfalfa cell digestibility.