Integrated pest management in alfalfa continues to be challenged by changes in the pests, alfalfa production system, environmental conditions, and other undetermined factors. Many of the underlying principles of integrated pest management (IPM) were developed from research conducted in the alfalfa system in the 1960-80’s. However, as indicated by challenges in controlling alfalfa weevil larvae ...

The competitive advantage of purple and yellow nutsedge in low desert alfalfa production areas of Southern California and Arizona is due to a combination of factors. These include frequent harvest and irrigation, high incident solar radiation, high summer temperatures that are supraoptimal for alfalfa growth, and the presence of C4 photosynthesis and vegetative reproduction (e.g., tubers) in nu...

ABSTRACT- The increasing population and the pastures inability to meet food needs in livestock have led to the increase of cultivates forage plants. In order to evaluate the effect of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa) extract on the growth and concentration of macronutrient and micronutrient contents of  forage sorghum (Sorghum vulgare), an experiment was...

Two studies were conducted to evaluate high-quality tall fescue hay as a supplement to beef cattle fed low-quality roughages. In Exp. 1, 15 ruminally cannulated Hereford x Angus steers (average weight 390 kg) were blocked by weight and assigned randomly to one of three treatments: 1) tall fescue straw, no supplement; 2) tall fescue straw plus tall fescue hay supplement; 3) tall fescue straw plu...

The objective of this research was to evaluate the effects of residual feed intake (RFI) determined under ad libitum feeding conditions on DMI and performance of yearling ewes fed either chopped or pelleted alfalfa hay. In Exp. 1, 45 ewe-lambs had ad libitum access to a pelleted grower diet for 63 d and individual DMI was determined using an electronic feed delivery system. Residual feed intake...

Transgenic alfalfa over-expressing a nodule-enhanced malate dehydrogenase (neMDH) cDNA and untransformed alfalfa plants were grown at the same field site and rhizosphere soils collected after 53 weeks of plant growth. These alfalfa lines differ in the amount and composition of root organic acids produced and exuded into the rhizosphere. Nucleotide sequencing of PCR-based 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA...

Alfalfa is one of the most important legume forage crops in the world. In spite of its agronomic and nutritive advantages, alfalfa has some limitations in the usage of pasture forage and hay supplement. High rapid degradation of protein in alfalfa poses a risk of rumen bloat to ruminants which could cause huge economic losses for farmers. Coupled with the relatively high lignin content, which i...

A 2-gram fresh weight inoculum of bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss. culture BG970) cell suspension culture treated with 7.5 x 10(-5) molar abscisic acid (ABA) for 7 days at 25 degrees C survived slow cooling to -60 degrees C. Over 80% of the cells in ABA treated cultures survived immersion in liquid N(2) after slow cooling to -40 or -60 degrees C. In contrast, a 6-gram fresh weight inoculum onl...

Struvite (NH4MgPO4·6H2O) may be an appropriate fertilizer to address phosphorus (P) deficiencies in organic cropping systems, but field studies assessing crop response struvite are lacking. Field experiments were conducted over 3 yr on a low-P, alkaline soil Manitoba assess the effect of application rate yield and P accumulation organically managed grain forage crops. was applied spring wheat (...

this experiment was conducted to determine the effect of feeding alfalfa hay and starter fiber level on feed intake and performance of holstein dairy calves, using thirty two male calves in a completely randomized design assigned to four diets in a 2×2 factorial arrangement. the experimental treatments were as follow: t1: starter with low fiber and without alfalfa hay, t2: starter with low fibe...