Abstract
Irrigation and harvest management play a fundamental role in sustaining alfalfa (Medicago sativa) productivity in regions of northern China with a sandy-soil. Temporary drought stress at single growth stage can help to balance yield outcome and water input. However, few studies have found a suitable practice of combination of drought stress and harvesting strategies to increase the alfalfa production and reduce water consumption. Here, we compared the effect of various harvesting regimes (five harvesting stage and four mowing heights) and three irrigation levels (drought stress) on forage yield and quality of alfalfa. The results showed that the effects of the three conditional parameters were interconnected. Moderate drought stress hardly affected yields compared to standard irrigation practices, but it improved water use efficiency. In contrast, severe drought stress reduced yields and CP content, while it increased the fiber content of the hay. Maximum hay yields and nutritional quality were obtained by applying single irrigation doses at moderate drought level, applied 7 days before the plants reached branching and again 7 days before harvesting at budding. This irrigation and harvesting modus can potentially increase the local alfalfa production, while water consumption is reduced by 22%, it would also result in a benefit of 3.46 CNY per m3 of water. Changing local practices to these recommendations would contribute to a more effective use of the scarce water supply for alfalfa production in sandy soils of north China. This is important in view of the projected effects of future climate changes.
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Claims 12
Claim · model-written summary
Moderate drought stress hardly affected alfalfa yields compared with standard irrigation.
- Taxon
- alfalfa
Medicago sativat0 - Treatment
- Moderate drought stresse1
- Outcome
- yieldse1
- Direction
- hardly affectede1
- Comparator
- standard irrigation practicese1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“drought stress on alfalfa”
e1“Moderate drought stress hardly affected yields compared to standard irrigation practices, but it improved water use efficiency”
Claim · model-written summary
Moderate drought stress improved water use efficiency of alfalfa compared with standard irrigation.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Treatment
- Moderate drought stresse1
- Outcome
- water use efficiencye1
- Direction
- improvede1
- Comparator
- standard irrigation practicese1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“drought stress on alfalfa”
e1“Moderate drought stress hardly affected yields compared to standard irrigation practices, but it improved water use efficiency”
Claim · model-written summary
Severe drought stress reduced alfalfa yields.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Treatment
- severe drought stresse2
- Outcome
- yieldse2
- Direction
- reducede2
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“drought stress on alfalfa”
e2“In contrast, severe drought stress reduced yields and CP content, while it increased the fiber content of the hay”
Claim · model-written summary
Severe drought stress reduced CP content of alfalfa hay.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Treatment
- severe drought stresse2
- Outcome
- CP contente2
- Direction
- reducede2
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“drought stress on alfalfa”
e2“In contrast, severe drought stress reduced yields and CP content, while it increased the fiber content of the hay”
Claim · model-written summary
Severe drought stress increased fiber content of alfalfa hay.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Treatment
- severe drought stresse2
- Outcome
- fiber content of the haye2
- Direction
- increasede2
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“drought stress on alfalfa”
e2“In contrast, severe drought stress reduced yields and CP content, while it increased the fiber content of the hay”
Claim · model-written summary
Maximum hay yields of alfalfa were obtained with single irrigation doses at moderate drought level.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Treatment
- single irrigation doses at moderate drought levele3
- Outcome
- hay yieldse3
- Direction
- Maximume3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“drought stress on alfalfa”
e3“Maximum hay yields and nutritional quality were obtained by applying single irrigation doses at moderate drought level, applied 7 days before the plants reached branching and again 7 days before harvesting at budding”
Claim · model-written summary
Maximum nutritional quality of alfalfa was obtained with single irrigation doses at moderate drought level.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Treatment
- single irrigation doses at moderate drought levele3
- Outcome
- nutritional qualitye3
- Direction
- Maximume3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“drought stress on alfalfa”
e3“Maximum hay yields and nutritional quality were obtained by applying single irrigation doses at moderate drought level, applied 7 days before the plants reached branching and again 7 days before harvesting at budding”
Claim · model-written summary
The irrigation and harvesting modus can potentially increase local alfalfa production.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Treatment
- This irrigation and harvesting moduse4
- Outcome
- local alfalfa productione4
- Direction
- increasee4
- Qualifier
- can potentiallye4
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“drought stress on alfalfa”
e4“This irrigation and harvesting modus can potentially increase the local alfalfa production, while water consumption is reduced by 22%, it would also result in a benefit of 3.46 CNY per m3 of water”
Claim · model-written summary
The irrigation and harvesting modus reduced water consumption by 22%.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Treatment
- This irrigation and harvesting moduse4
- Outcome
- water consumptione4
- Direction
- reducede4
- Value
- 22%e4
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“drought stress on alfalfa”
e4“This irrigation and harvesting modus can potentially increase the local alfalfa production, while water consumption is reduced by 22%, it would also result in a benefit of 3.46 CNY per m3 of water”
Claim · model-written summary
The irrigation and harvesting modus would result in a benefit of 3.46 CNY per m3 of water.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Treatment
- This irrigation and harvesting moduse4
- Outcome
- benefite4
- Direction
- increasee4
- Value
- 3.46 CNY per m3e4
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“drought stress on alfalfa”
e4“This irrigation and harvesting modus can potentially increase the local alfalfa production, while water consumption is reduced by 22%, it would also result in a benefit of 3.46 CNY per m3 of water”
Claim · model-written summary
Changing local practices to these recommendations would contribute to a more effective use of the scarce water supply for alfalfa in sandy soils of north China.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativae5
- Outcome
- a more effective use of the scarce water supplye5
- Setting
- sandy soils of north Chinae5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e5“Changing local practices to these recommendations would contribute to a more effective use of the scarce water supply for alfalfa production in sandy soils of north China”
Claim · model-written summary
The effects of the three conditional parameters on alfalfa forage yield and quality were interconnected.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Treatment
- three conditional parameterse6
- Outcome
- effects of the three conditional parameterse6
- Qualifier
- interconnectede6
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“drought stress on alfalfa”
e6“The results showed that the effects of the three conditional parameters were interconnected”
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