Abstract

BERTRAM, Nicolas A. et al. Efecto de la concentración salina y el regimen hídrico sobre la germinación, emergencia y establecimiento de alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). RIA. Rev. investig. agropecu. [online]. 2021, vol.47, n.2, pp.267-272.  Epub Oct 27, 2021. ISSN 1669-2314.

The halo-hydromorphic soils of the humid and sub-humid region of Argentina cover approximately 20 million hectares. A large proportion of them have native vegetation with low biomass production and water consumption. Understanding the functioning of perennial forage species such as alfalfa in these sites is of paramount importance to improve the productivity of the grazing systems located there. The objective of this work is to understand and quantify the effect of salinity and soil water content on the germination, emergence and early establishment of alfalfa. Three experiments were carried out at different scales: (E1) germination chamber experiment, to determine, under controlled conditions, the effect of different salinity and water availability conditions on the germination and emergence of alfalfa; (E2) a greenhouse experiment to assess the effect of water stress (by insufficiency or excess) on alfalfa plants in the early establishment stage; and (E3) a field experiment, to identify and rank environmental indicators that determine the emergence, establishment and production of alfalfa.

It was found that, in halo-hydromorphic environments, saline concentration was the main variable affecting alfalfa growth and survival during the early stages, where salinity levels close to 4 dS.m-1. Water stress by excess or water deficit affected plant stands, halving the number of individuals. The phenotypic plasticity of alfalfa against different salinity and water conditions, makes it a species to consider to produce high quality biomass, distributed over time, in this type of environment.

Keywords : establishment; drought; flood; halo-hydromorphic soils..

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