Agronomic Yield, Digestibility, and Protein Content of Nine Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) Varieties in Central Valley Oaxaca Mexico

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the yield, digestibility, and protein content of nine varieties of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). The varieties of alfalfa were compared during a complete production cycle. A completely randomized design was used taking into account the season of the year as a block and the varieties as treatment, a Tukey test was used to evaluate differences between treatments. The highest dry matter (DM) production was in the summer, with Atlixco variety being the highest yield (1953.3 kg DM cut-1), the ratio leaf:stalk (L:S) was highest during the winter, with no differences (p>0.05) between varieties. The varieties with highest protein content (PC) was Caliverde and Valenciana (22.9 % PC) during the winter (p<0.05). The highest digestibility was in the summer and there were no differences between varieties. The higher amount of digestible dry matter (DDM) and PC were produced by Valenciana (1586.7 kg DDM cut-1 and 446.7 kg PC cut-1), UC-Cibola (1557.0 kg DDM cut-1 and 432.3 kg PC cut-1) and Atlixco (1549 kg DDM cut-1 and 441.1 kg PC cut-1). The highest dry matter production was during the summer and spring, the three most productive varieties were Valenciana, Atlixco and UC-Cibola, and therefore these are the most suitable varieties for the best quality forage production in the region of study.