The Egyptian alfalfa weevil (alfalfa weevil in some areas) during most years is the most severe insect pest of alfalfa in California. These pests feed on alfalfa leaflets and stems, reducing hay yields. Several insecticides provide acceptable control of this pest. Historically, product choice has been driven by efficacy on the pest, cost, presence of other pests, i.e., aphids, days before harve...

Arsenic (As), a metalloid and unnecessary element, is highly toxic to living organisms. It can be accumulated in the environment and enter the food chains through uptake by plants. The present study was designed to assess the response of antioxidant defense system of alfalfa to As (As0, As3+ and As5+) induced oxidative stress at four rates (0, 100, 200, and 300 µM) as a completely randomized de...

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is an important legume forage crop with great economic value. However, as the growth of alfalfa is seriously affected by an inadequate supply of water, drought is probably the major abiotic environmental factor that most severely affects alfalfa production worldwide. In an effort to enhance alfalfa drought tolerance, we transformed the Arabidopsis Enhanced Drought T...

BACKGROUND Feeding alfalfa hay is often recommended for its buffering components, like protein and calcium, to prevent lesions of the gastric mucosa in horses. Until now, there has been no information regarding the influence of alfalfa particle size on the gastric mucosa. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of feeding two alfalfa preparations with different particle sizes (alfa...

A field experiment was conducted to study the effects of inoculation with the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus caledonium and/or Rhizobium meliloti on phytoremediation of an agricultural soil contaminated with weathered PCBs by alfalfa grown for 180 days. Planting alfalfa (P), alfalfa inoculated with G. caledonium (P + AM), alfalfa inoculated with R. meliloti (P + R), and alfalfa co-inocula...

The alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica (Gyllenhal), is a serious, yet sporadic defoliator of alfalfa, Medicago sativa L., in Nebraska. A 2-yr study was conducted in 2005 and 2006 to test for variation in degree-day requirements by location in eastern Nebraska. Sampling took place along a latitudinal gradient in three regions of eastern Nebraska. Three fields were sampled in each region during the 2...

Dueto theactionofo-quinones formedviapolyphenoloxidase, conserved red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) contains abundant rumen undegradable protein (RUP), but inadequate rumen degradable protein (RDP) fordairy cattle. This studyexaminedhowforagemanagement influences RDP, RUP, crude protein (CP) and fiber fractions in red clover silage and dry matter (DM) yields during the first full production ye...

Birdsfoot trefoil is a high-quality forage recommended for irrigated perennial pastures, either in mixtures with grasses or in pure stands. In this bulletin we report on the forage nutritive value of pure stands of birdsfoot trefoil harvested at 6week intervals, and compare it to alfalfa harvested at the same intervals. We found that the digestibility of the two forages was similar, but that al...

Integrated pest management in alfalfa continues to be challenged by changes in the pests, alfalfa production system, environmental conditions, and other undetermined factors. Many of the underlying principles of integrated pest management (IPM) were developed from research conducted in the alfalfa system in the 1960-80’s. However, as indicated by challenges in controlling alfalfa weevil larvae ...

Population dynamics of A. ritzemabosi and D. dipsaci were studied in two alfalfa fields in Wyoming. Symptomatic stem-bud tissue and root-zone soil from alfalfa plants exhibiting symptoms of D. dipsaci infection were collected at intervals of 3 to 4 weeks. Both nematodes were extracted from stem tissue with the Baermann funnel method and from soil with the sieving and Baermann funnel method. Soi...