In June 2005, USDA/FDA/EPA deregulated the Roundup Ready trait in alfalfa. In August 2005, seed of the first Roundup Ready alfalfa varieties was offered for sale. This was the first biotech trait to be commercialized in alfalfa, and paved the way for new research supporting a second wave of biotech traits enhancing value in alfalfa. These new biotech traits can be divided into two categories: o...

Fall dormancy (FD) is an adaptive trait in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). It appeared in the regrowth process in late summer or early autumn after alfalfa was harvested. FD affects the biomass accumulation and winter survival in high latitude area. However, the molecular mechanism under FD is still not clear at present. Performing RNA-seq of fall dormant and nondormant alfalfa varieties at diffe...

It is assured that alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) was introduced in Han dynasty. There are cognitive differences on whether Zhang Qian introduced alfalfa.. Based on the previous studies, research inductive method was used. The relationship between Zhang Qian and alfalfa introduction was analyzed from the motivation, experience and influence of Zhang Qian to the Western Regions and the image gener...

Materials and Methods The Neely-Kinyon LTAR site was established in 1998 to study the long-term effects of organic production in Iowa. Treatments at the LTAR site, replicated four times in a completely randomized design, include the following rotations: conventional CornSoybean (C-S), organic Corn-SoybeanOats/Alfalfa (C-S-O/A), organic CornSoybean-Oats/Alfalfa-Alfalfa (C-S-O/A-A) and organic Co...

Aphanomyces euteiches causes root rot disease of alfalfa, and two races of the pathogen have been identified based on the reaction of established check cultivars. A majority of alfalfa cultivars grown in regions where A. euteiches is prevalent have resistance to race 1 of the pathogen, but very few cultivars have resistance to race 2. The genetic basis of resistance in alfalfa to A. euteiches i...

Alfalfa use by dairy cattle has decreased in recent years because of excessive nonprotein nitrogen and low fiber digestibility. Ideal attributes for plant modification of alfalfa may include those that increase milk potential per acre and/or per ton, enhance digestible NDF, improve protein content and amino acid balance, improve agronomic traits for insect protection (safer forage supply), herb...

We investigated the possibility of interspecific water transfer in an alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and maize (Zea mays L.) association. An alfalfa plant was grown through two vertically stacked plastic tubes. A 5 centimeter air gap between tubes was bridged by alfalfa roots. Five-week old maize plants with roots confined to the top tube were not watered, while associated alfalfa roots had free ...

We evaluated the effect of forage quality on response of cattle to supplementation with cooked molasses blocks. In Exp. 1, 175 heifers had ad libitum access to prairie hay (5.2% CP, DM basis). Treatments were a 2 x 3 factorial: supplementation with 0 or 1.96 kg/d of alfalfa DM, and supplementation with no cooked molasses block or with a low-protein or a high-protein cooked molasses block (14.4 ...

Six ruminally cannulated cows were used in an experiment with a 3 x 3 Latin square design. Three all forage diets-alfalfa silage, alfalfa hay, or corn silage plus 2.2% urea (DM basis)-were fed for ad libitum intake four times daily. The microbial protein marker 15NH3 and the liquid marker Cr-EDTA were infused continuously into the rumen for 72 and 48 h, respectively; the solid marker, Yb-labele...

Feed deprivation is commonly used by the poultry industry to induce molting and stimulate multiple egg-laying cycles. However, feed deprivation has been observed experimentally to increase susceptibility of poultry to Salmonella infections. Previous studies indicated that alfalfa was efficacious in reducing Salmonella; the present investigation was designed to evaluate the efficacy of combined ...