Biological potential of alfalfa on natural and sown forage lands of the Republic of Altai

Abstract

This paper discusses the research findings on the biological and morphological characteristics of alfalfa on natural and sown grasslands under the agro-climatic conditions of the Republic of Altai. The alfalfa belongs to the genus Medicago L . This is a large genus that includes up to 61 species; it includes diploid, tetraploid and hexaploid species. Tetraploid species are of the greatest importance for production: common or purple alfalfa ( M. sativa L. ), sickle or yellow alfalfa ( M. falcata L. ), variegated alfalfa ( M. varia Mart. ) and bastard or hardy lucerne ( M. media Pers. ). Of all the variety of alfalfa species, only two species - common alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L. ) and yellow alfalfa ( Medicago falcata L. ) have acquired the widest and practical significance, and occupy large crop areas. The alfalfa is the main perennial legume crop in the Republic of Altai; it is grown for hay and green fodder. From 2016 through 2021, the populations of yellow alfalfa in nature and variegated alfalfa in culture were studied. In wild flora, sickle (yellow) alfalfa plants reach a height of 50 to 70 cm with 12-15 internodes; in culture, the yellow hybrid variety type - up to 70-90 cm with 16-18 internodes; the blue hybrid variety type - up to 80-92 cm with 15-18 internodes. Variegated alfalfa had a continuous growth of vegetative and generative shoots. On the second and third year, from 150 to 320 flowers were formed on one variegated alfalfa plant; of those 72-120 pods were formed (30.0-42.9% of the total number of flowers). The number of seeds per pod averaged 1.73-2.46.