Resumo

DEMIN, Pablo Enrique  e  AGUILERA, Juan José. Effect of irrigation on the yield of alfalfa for hay in Valle Central of Catamarca, Argentina. Rev. Fac. Cienc. Agrar., Univ. Nac. Cuyo [online]. 2012, vol.44, n.1, pp.173-181. ISSN 1853-8665.

In the province of Catamarca there is a large area planted with alfalfa. Lack of knowledge of crop water requirements in this area constitutes a serious problem. An irrigation experiment was conducted in randomized blocks in Valle Central with four treatments and four replications. The treatments consisted in replenishing soil moisture content at different thresholds: 75, 50, 25 and 0% of the total soil water storage capacity. Dry-matter production per treatment was evaluated in seven cuttings. Results showed that when irrigating with a 75 and a 50% threshold, similar dry-matter yields were obtained equivalent to 25,674.4 kg ms.ha-1 and 24,215.4 kg ms.ha-1, respectively. Significant differences were found (p < 0.0001) between the means of these treatments and the other two treatments. An irrigation threshold of 25% yielded less than16,366.7 kg.ha-1 and an irrigation threshold of 0% yielded less than 9,970.9 kg.ha-1. It can be concluded that alfalfa production is significantly reduced when irrigation intervals are very long.

Palavras-chave : Alfalfa; Dry matter; Yield; Irrigation.

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