A32-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, December 7, 1991
By Dr. John E. Baylor
Forage Specialist (Retired)
Penn State University
DR. JOHN E. BAYLOR
Forage Specialist (Retired)
The Pa. State University
Alfalfa: Breeding .for Quality-
My Perspective
When I've asked alfalfa growers
what they expect from their alfalfa
crop they generally agree on three
things: high yield, high quality
forage, and persistent stands. And,
yes, they would like to have con
sistent performance every time a
new stand is established. .
Until recently whenever we've
talked about improved alfalfa var
ieties relative to meeting the
above criteria we've automatically
talked about multiple pest resis
tance. It was, and is, a key term.
Research has proven that an alfal
fa variety with moderate to high
levels of multiple pest resistance
for a given area is generally super-
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ior in yield and persistence, and
indirectly-quality, to a variety
with a high resistance to one dis
ease or pest, but without resistance
to others. So be sure that the var
ieties you choose do have adequ
ate levels of multiple pest resis
tance for your area.
Today, quality itself is another
factor receiving considerable
attention from alfalfa breeders.
And it is this approach that I
would like to consider in today's
column.
Researchers and farmers alike
agree that leaves are a key factor
in alfalfa quality. And studies
have shown there is a direct rela
tionship between relative feed val
ue (RFV), crude protein (CP), and
percent leaves. The challenge to
alfalfa breeders has been how to
improve quality by improving the
percentage of leaves.
One approach by plant breeders
to improve quality has been
through the introduction of multi
leaflet varieties. i.e.. varieties with
more than the traditional three
leaflets per leaf. Several multileaf
varieties are currently on the
market And while real progress
had been made in the expression
of the multileaf characteristic, it
still tends to be somewhat incon
sistent Furthermore, there is no
clear cut evidence to show that
these varieties actually contain a
higher percentage of leaves, and
higher crude protein levels, than
trifoliate varieties. In fact there
are data from several studies
showing that muldleafs are not
necessarily leafier, regardless of'
level of trait expression. Let me
emphasize that this doesn't mean
we won't see more improvement
in the years ahead.
A second approach by plant
breeders to improve quality has
been through the development of
trifoliate varieties with finer stems
and higher ieaf-to-stem ratios.
And there are data to show that
real progress has been made using
this approach. In fact, a number of
studies from both public and pri
vate evaluations indicate that one
recently released trifoliate variety
selected for high quality consis
tently demonstrates leafiness and
forage quality superior to any
available multileaf type, regard
less of expression level.
The use of new technology,
namely near infrared reflectance
spectroscopy (NIRS) is given
much of the credit for recent qual
ity improvement in alfalfa through
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plant breeding. NIRS allows for
the faster selection of plants in the
breeding population on the basis
of crude protein, fiber qualities,
stem thickness, leaf-to-stem ratio,
and any other desirable character
istics that might still be identified
by breeders.
But, while quality improvement
through breeding is a breakth
rough, and one that farmers can
take advantage of. alfalfa growers
must also recognize that manage
ment still plays the most important
role in alfalfa hay quality. This
Better Feed Management
Spurs Milk Increase
ENON VALLEY (Lawrence
Co.) —Better management of feed
and including a supplement with
the silage and hay garnered the
best Guernsey breed improvement
for Trotacre Farm, managed by
James Trotter and sons Bob and
Dave.
“We just hit it lucky, I sup
pose,’ ’ said Jim, who attributes the
efforts of his two sons to impro
ving the overall feed management,
The improvements came even in
an area hit severely by last sum
mer’s drought Although the
drought had some effect the farm
includes stage of maturity at the
time of harvest as well as all of the
other hay and silage management
practices to minimize losses.
Alfalfa management, several
workers say, can have a 30 to 40%
effect on RFV, while germplasm
can have only, a 10 to 15% effect
Finally, did holiday season is
just around the comer. And I take
this opportunity to wish each of
you a Happy Holiday Season and
a most prosperous New Year. I
look forward to sharing informa
tion with you throughout 1992.
will manage to obtain enough feed
through the winter months.
Jim serves as the business mana
ger of the state Guernsey Assoca
tion. Trotacre Farms manages 4SQ
acres that produce enough feed for
40 milking cows and 40 replace
ment stock.
Trotacrc milks from a comfort
stall to a pipeline. Herd improve
ments include a milking increase
of 2,693 pounds, a 114-pound total
fat increase, and a protein increase
of +BO, according to DHIA
records.
[33HI
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