Abstract
Information is lacking on the growth response of diverse alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L.) cultivars to soil moisture. Our objective was to determine the effect of soil moisture on root growth, herbage yield, and water potential of cultivars varying in winterhardiness and Phytophthora root rot (PRR) ( Phytophthora megasperma Drechs. f. sp. medicaginis ) resistance. ‘Agate,’ ‘Anchor,’ and ‘WL 318’ alfalfas were grown in a glasshouse and subjected to three soil moisture regimes which consisted of application of 126 (Ml), 63 (M2), and 45 (M3) cm of water during the experiment. A moisture regime X cultivar interaction occurred for root weight as WL 318 had a greater root weight than Anchor or Agate at Ml, but at M2 and M3 cultivar root weights were similar. Cultivar root length did not change significantly as moisture level decreased, but averaged over moisture regimes, Anchor and WL 318 had greater root lengths than Agate. Herbage yields decreased for all cultivars from Ml to M2 and M3, but Anchor and WL 318 produced significantly more herbage (averaged over moisture regimes) than Agate. Although increased root length is usually associated with increased drought avoidance, cultivars with greater root lengths (Anchor and WL 318) had lower plant water potentials under moisture stress (M3) than Agate. The relationships that occurred between cultivar herbage yields, root lengths, and plant water potentials indicate that further study of these parameters under field conditions may be useful in improvement of alfalfa forage yields under drought stress.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
At M1, WL 318 had greater root weight than Anchor or Agate, while cultivar weights were similar at M2 and M3.
- Taxon
- Alfalfa
Medicago sativat0 - Material
- WL 318e0
- Outcome
- root weighte0
- Direction
- greatere0
- Qualifier
- at Mle0
- Comparator
- Anchor or Agatee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“WL 318 had a greater root weight than Anchor or Agate at Ml, but at M2 and M3 cultivar root weights were similar”
t0“Alfalfa”
Claim · model-written summary
At M2 and M3, cultivar root weights were similar.
- Taxon
- AlfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Outcome
- cultivar root weightse0
- Direction
- similare0
- Qualifier
- at M2 and M3e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“at M2 and M3 cultivar root weights were similar”
t0“Alfalfa”
Claim · model-written summary
Root length did not change significantly as moisture decreased.
- Taxon
- AlfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Treatment
- moisture level decreasede0
- Outcome
- Cultivar root lengthe0
- Direction
- did not changee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Cultivar root length did not change significantly as moisture level decreased”
t0“Alfalfa”
Claim · model-written summary
Averaged across moisture regimes, Anchor and WL 318 had greater root length than Agate.
- Taxon
- AlfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Material
- Anchor and WL 318e0
- Outcome
- root lengthse0
- Direction
- greatere0
- Comparator
- Agatee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“averaged over moisture regimes, Anchor and WL 318 had greater root lengths than Agate”
t0“Alfalfa”
Claim · model-written summary
Herbage yield fell for all cultivars from M1 to M2 and M3.
- Taxon
- AlfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Treatment
- M2 and M3e0
- Outcome
- Herbage yieldse0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Comparator
- Mle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Herbage yields decreased for all cultivars from Ml to M2 and M3”
t0“Alfalfa”
Claim · model-written summary
Anchor and WL 318 produced significantly more herbage than Agate across moisture regimes.
- Taxon
- AlfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Material
- Anchor and WL 318e0
- Outcome
- herbagee0
- Direction
- moree0
- Comparator
- Agatee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Anchor and WL 318 produced significantly more herbage (averaged over moisture regimes) than Agate”
t0“Alfalfa”
Claim · model-written summary
Under M3 moisture stress, Anchor and WL 318 had lower plant water potential than Agate.
- Taxon
- AlfalfaMedicago sativat0
- Material
- Anchor and WL 318e0
- Outcome
- plant water potentialse0
- Direction
- lowere0
- Qualifier
- under moisture stress (M3)e0
- Comparator
- Agatee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“cultivars with greater root lengths (Anchor and WL 318) had lower plant water potentials under moisture stress (M3) than Agate”
t0“Alfalfa”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors suggest studying root length and water potential in the field to improve alfalfa forage yield under drought.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativae0
- Outcome
- further study of these parameters under field conditions may be useful in improvement of alfalfa forage yields under drought stresse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“further study of these parameters under field conditions may be useful in improvement of alfalfa forage yields under drought stress”
The same questions in other papers
soil water · growth · Medicago sativa (alfalfa)Positive and negative results
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- positive
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See all 8 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.