DETERMINATION OF SEEDING RATE IN THE BLUE MELILOT (Melilotus caeruleus (L.) Desr.) FOR FORAGE YIELD AND SOME QUALITY FEATURES UNDER SUBTROPICAL CONDITIONS

Abstract

The aim of this research was to determine to blue melilot yield and quality properties sown at different rates of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 1 and 40 on November 4, 2015, on November 7, 2016 and on October 30, 2017. Investigated properties showed significantly differences. The lowest number of branches per plant (1.47), main stem diameter (3.20 mm) and leaflet width (1.44 cm) values were measured from blue melilot genotype 'BG-4' with 40 kg ha-1 seeding rate. The maximum main stem diameter (4.96-5.04 mm) and leaflet length (4.50-4.88 cm) were found from 5 to 15 kg ha-1 seeding rates. Highest plant height (84.48 cm), number of branches per plant (4.27), leaf length (7.12 cm), main stem diameter (4.41 mm), leaf/stem ratio (0.82), leaflet length (4.38 cm) and width (2.22 cm) were observed for BG-3 blue melilot genotype compared to other genotypes. Increasing seed rates resulted with an increase in crude protein, fresh fodder and dry matter yields. However, increasing seed rates caused decrease in crude fiber, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and acid detergent lignin contents. The K, Ca, P and Mg contents of blue melilot genotypes ranging from 2.40-2.55 %, 1.48-1.56 %, 0.60-0.68 % and 0.40-0.45 %, respectively. According to results, blue melilot can be sown at a seeding rate of 30 kg ha-1 similar regions.

Keywords

• Dry matter yield
• fresh fodder yield
• Melilotus caeruleus (L.) Desr.
• morphological characters
• quality traits

References

1. Abbasi, M.R., S. Hosseini and L. Pourakbar. 2017. Coumarin variation in Iranian biennial Melilotus genetic resources and its relationship with agro-morphophenological traits. Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology 20: 89-98.
2. Abdel-Rahman, E.M. and A.O.A. Suwar. 2012. Effect of seeding rate on growth and yield of two alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) cultivars. International Journal of Sudan Research 2: 141-154.
3. Anonymous. 2012. Seeding rate effects on soybean height, yield, and economic return. Crops and Soils Magazine, March-April: 45-48.
4. Anonymous. 2020. Forage Crop Production Guide. Government of Saskatchewan, Canada.
5. AOAC. 2019. Association of Official Analytical Chemists, 21st Ed., Maryland, USA.
6. Ates, E. 2011. Determination of Forage yield and its components in blue melilot (Melilotus caerulea (L.) Desr.) grown in the western region of Turkey. Cuban Journal of Agricultural Science 45: 299-302.
7. Ates, E. 2015. Performance of four blue melilot (Melilotus caeruleus (L.) Desr.) lines grown at two locations in the Thrace region of Turkey. Range Management and Agroforestry 36: 122-127.
8. Ates, E. 2016. The effect of different growth stages on some forage quality characters of the leaf and stem in four newly developed genotypes of blue melilot (Melilotus caeruleus (L.) Desr.), Greener Journal of Plant Breeding and Crop Science 4: 87–93.

9. Ates, E. and A.S. Tekeli. 2007. Salinity tolerance of Persian clover (Trifolium resupinatum var. majus Boiss.) lines at germination and seedling stage. World Journal of Agricultural Science 3: 71-79.
10. Ates, E., L. Coskuntuna and A.S. Tekeli. 2010. The amino acid and fiber contents of four different annual forage legumes at full-bloom stage. Cuban Journal of Agricultural Science 44: 73.
11. Ates, E. and O.A. Seren. (2020). Determination of forage yield and quality of blue melilot (Melilotus caeruleus (L.) Desr.) at different growth stages under Edirne ecological conditions. Journal of Agriculture Faculty of Ege University 57: 111-117 (In Turkish).
12. Atis, I, N. Celiktas, E. Can and S. Yılmaz. 2019. The effects of cutting intervals and seeding rates on forage yield and quality of alfalfa. Turkish Journal of Field Crops 24: 12-20.
13. Atis, I. and S. Acikalin. 2020. Yield, quality and competition properties of grass pea and wheat grown as pure and binary mixture in different plant densities. Turkish Journal of Field Crops 25: 18-25.
14. Badrzadeh, M. and L. Ghafarzadeh-namazi. 2009. Trigonella caerulea (Fabaceae), an aromatic plant from Ardabil province, Iran. Iranian Journal of Botany 15: 82-84.
15. Caddel, J.L and J.D. Enis. 2004. Forage Legumes for Oklahoma. Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, PSS-2585, USA.
16. Celen, A.E., K.M. Cimrin and K. Sahar. 2005. The herbage yield and nutrient contents of some vetch (Vicia sp.) species. Journal of Agronomy 4: 10-13.
17. Demiroglu, G., H. Geren and R. Avcıoglu. 2008. Adaptation of different alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) genotypes under Aegean region conditions. Journal of Agriculture Faculty of Ege University 45: 1-10 (In Turkish).
18. Dolarslan, M. and M. Gul. 2017. Pyhtojeomorphological properties of Melilotus officinalis (L.) Desr. and Melilotus alba Desr. (Fabaceae) taxa in semiarid areas pyhtojeomorphological properties of Melilotus (L.) species. Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology 5(6): 607-613.
19. Duke, J.A. 1981. Handbook of legumes of world economic importance. Plenum Press, New York, USA.
20. Dzyubenko, N.I. and E.A. Dzyubenko. 2014. Trigonella caerulea (L) Ser.- Blue fenugreek, blue-white trigonella. http://www.agroatlas.ru/en/ content/related/ Trigonella_caerulea/ (Accessed August 18, 2020)
21. Elgersma, E., K. Søegaard and S.K. Jensen. 2013. Herbage dry-matter production and forage quality of three legumes and four non-leguminous forbs grown in single-species stands. Grass and Forage Science 69: 705-716.
22. Frame, J. 2002. Melilotus albus Medik. FAO Grassland Index.
23. Frame, J., J.F.L. Charlton and A.S. Laidlaw. 1998. Temperate forage legumes. CAB International, UK.
24. Isaac, R.A. and W.C. Johson Jr. 1998. Elemental Determination by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry. In: Handbook of Reference Methods for Plant Analysis, ed. Kalra, Y.P., 165–170, CRC Press, Washington, DC, USA.
25. Kavut, Y. T. and R. Avcioglu. 2015. Yield and quality performances of various alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) cultivars in different soil textures in a Mediterranean environment. Turkish Journal of Field Crops 20: 65-71.
26. Kavut, Y.T. 2019. Effects of seeding pattern and harvest date of Persian clover and annual ryegrass on hay yield and quality in a Mediterranean environment. Turkish Journal of Field Crops 24: 245-251.
27. Kostopoulou, P., Z.M. Parissi, E.M. Abraham, M. Karatassiou, A.P. Kyriazopoulos and N. Barbayiannis. 2015. Effect of selenium on mineral content and nutritive value of Melilotus officinalis L. Journal of Plant Nutrition 38: 1849-1861.
28. Lindsey, A.J., P.R. Thomison, R. Mullen and A.B. Geyer. 2015. Corn response to planting date as affected by plant population and hybrid in continuous corn cropping systems. Crop, Forage and Turfgrass Management 1: 1-7.
29. Lindsey, A.J., P.R. Thomison and D.N. Emerson. 2018. Modeling the effect of varied and fixed seeding rates at a small-plot scale. Agronomy Journal 110: 2456-2461.
30. Loges, R. 2012. Herbs and tannin-rich plants - the latest German research. Herning, Denmark: Printing house, Frederiksberg Bogtrykkeri A/S. pp. 363–365 (In German).
31. Meyer, D. 2005. Sweetclover: Production and Management. NDSU Extension Service, Fargo, North Dakota, USA.
32. McGuire, W.S. 1983. The influence of seeding rates on quality of alfalfa in Oregon’s Willamette valley. Herbage Abstract 53: 387.
33. Mohlenbrock, RH. 2002. White sweet clover, Melilotus alba. http:// www.illinoiswildflowers.info/weeds/plants/wh_swclover.htm (Accessed July 28, 2020)
34. NRC. 2007. Nutrient requirements of small ruminants: Sheep, Goats, Cervids, and New World Camelids. National Research Council of the National Academies Sciences, The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, USA.
35. Ogle, D., L. St, John and D. Tilley. 2008. Plant Guide for yellow sweetclover (Melilotus officinalis (L.) Lam. and white sweetclover (M. alba Medik.). USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Idaho Plant Materials Center, Aberdeen, ID., USA.
36. Okuyan, R., E. Tuncer, S. Bayindir and Z. Yildirim. 1986. The nutrient rewuirements of domestic animals. The nutrient requirements of sheep’s. Uludag University, Agriculture Faculty Press No: 7, Bursa, Turkey, 67p (In Turkish).
37. Romero, J.M. and T. Marañón. 1996. Allocation of biomass and mineral elements in Melilotus segetalis (annual sweetclover): effects of NaCl salinity and plant age. New Phytologist 132: 565-573.
38. Sparrow, S.D., V.L. Cochran and E.B. Sparrow. 1993. Herbage yields and nitrogen accumulation by seven legume crops on acid and neutral soils in a subarctic environment. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 73: 1037.
39. Tekeli, A.S. and E. Ates. 2003. Determination of some agricultural and botanical characters of someannual clovers (Trifolium sp.). Bulgarian Journal Agricultural Science 9: 505-508.
40. Tekeli, A.S. and E. Ates. 2005. Yield potential and mineral composition of white clover (Trifolium repens L.)-tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) mixtures. Journal of Central European Agriculture 6: 27-33.
41. Tekeli, A.S. and E. Ates. 2011. Forage Legumes (2nd Ed). Sevil Grafik Tasarim ve Cilt Evi, ISBN: 978-605-62007-0-0, Tekirdag, Turkey (In Turkish).
42. Tekeli, A.S., R. Avcioglu and E. Ates. 2003. Changes in some morphological and chemical properties of Persian clover (Trifolium resupinatum L.) in relation to time and above-ground biomass. Journal of Agricultural Sciences 9:352-360 (In Turkish).
43. Tenikecier, H.S. and E. Ates. 2018. Chemical composition of six grass species (Poaceae sp.) from protected forest range in Northern Bulgaria. Asian Journal of Applied Sciences 11: 71-75.
44. Tenikecier, H.S. and E. Ates. 2019. Effect of altitude on morphological and nutritive characteristics of orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata L.) collected from natural flora of Ganos Mountain in Thrace region, Turkey. Range Management and Agroforestry 40: 286-292.
45. Thomas, C., K. Aston and S.R. Daley. 1985. Milk production from silage. 3. A comparison of red clover with grass silage. Animal Production 41: 23-31.
46. Tucak, M., S. Popović, T. Čupić, G. Krizmanić, V. Španić, B. Šimić and V. Meglič. 2014. Agro-morphological and forage quality traits of selected alfalfa populations and their application in breeding. Turkish Journal of Field Crops 19: 79-83
47. Turan, N., A. E. Celen and M. A. Ozyazici. 2017. Yield and quality characteristics of some alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) varieties grown in the eastern Turkey. Turkish Journal of Field Crops 22: 160-165.
48. Van Roekel, R.J. and J.A. Coulter. 2011. Agronomic responses of corn to planting date and plant density. Agronomy Journal 103: 1414-1422.
49. Van Soest, P.J. and N.A. Jorgensen. 1981. Forages for high animal production: Nutritional factors and effects of conservation. Journal of Dairy Science 64: 1207-1229.
50. Van Soest, P.J., J.B. Robertson and B.A. Lewis. 1991. Methods for dietary fibre, neutral detergent fibre, and non-starch polysaccharides in relation to animal nutrition. Journal Dairy Science 74: 3583-3597.