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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #83607
Title: AGRONOMIC EVALUATION OF MEDICAGO RUTHENICA COLLECTED IN INNER MONGOLIA: II

Author
item Campbell, Travis
item BAO, G - GRASSLAND RES. INSTIT.
item XIA, ZHENG - INSTIT. OF SOIL & FERTILI

Submitted to: Crop Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/4/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is fourth in total acreage of crops in the US and is a very important hay crop worldwide. As with all crops, there are problems that cannot be solved without an influx of new genes, and plant explorations are routinely mounted to make such genes available to the plant breeder. Of particular interest to the alfalfa community, and in particular danger of loss due to development, was Medicago ruthenica from the People's Republic of China (PRC). This species appeared to have potential not only as a source of genes for improving cultivated alfalfa, but also as a new forage crop for use in low-input agricultural systems. This study completes the evaluation of M. ruthenica accessions that were collected in Inner Mongolia (PRC) and evaluated in the eastern USA under low fertility. Some of these accessions performed quite well in comparison to cultivated alfalfa, primarily because of their tolerance of low soil fertility and insect resistance, and may have potential superior to that of cultivated alfalfa for use in low-input agricultural systems. Alfalfa is the most important hay crop in the U.S., yet it has insect and disease problems that keep it from realizing its full potential. Genes from Medicago ruthenica may help in solving some of these problems. Medicago ruthenica also demonstrated considerable potential as a new forage crop for use in agricultural systems with low fertilizer and pesticide inputs where alfalfa may not perform well.

Technical Abstract: Medicago ruthenica [(L.) Ledebour] has long been recognized as a potential new forage crop, which may also have potential as a source of genes for improving stress tolerance in cultivated alfalfa (M. sativa L.). This study was designed to complete the agronomic evaluation of M. ruthenica accessions collected in Inner Mongolia in 1991. Forty accessions, representing 13 environmentally diverse collection sites, were evaluated in the field at Beltsville MD (USA) in 1995 and 1996. Stand retention was only 27.2% (compared to 58.6% for M. sativa checks), indicating that M. ruthenica is not well adapted to the humid eastern USA. Significant variation was noted among entries for dry matter yield, growth habit, leaf shape, and plant height and width. There were positive relationships between upright growth habit and leaf narrowness and between procumbency and yield. Leaf:stem ratios of selected M. ruthenica entries and M. sativa checks were not significantly different and M. ruthenica was significantly more tolerant of potato leafhopper feeding than M. sativa. Some of the most agronomically desirable accessions could represent landraces and/or survivors of grazing, human traffic, or cultivation. nalyses from both evaluations indicate that M. ruthenica may have the potential to become a new forage crop, perhaps for low input systems, and could provide genes that would be of considerable value to cultivated alfalfa.