Search

The bacterial stem blight of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), first reported in the United States in 1904, has emerged recently as a serious disease problem in the western states. The causal agent, Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae, promotes frost damage and disease that can reduce first harvest yields by 50%. Resistant cultivars and an understanding of host-pathogen interactions are lacking in this pathosystem. With the goal of identifying DNA markers associated with disease resistance, we developed biparental F1 mapping populations using plants from the cultivar ZG9830. Leaflets of plants in the mapping populations were inoculated with a bacterial suspension using a needleless syringe and scored for disease symptoms. Bacterial populations were measured by culture plating and using a quantitative PCR assay. Surprisingly, leaflets with few to no symptoms had bacterial loads similar to leaflets with severe disease symptoms, indicating that plants without symptoms were tolerant to the bacterium. Genotyping-by-sequencing identified 11 significant SNP markers associated with the tolerance phenotype. This is the first study to identify DNA markers associated with tolerance to P. syringae. These results provide insight into host responses and provide markers that can be used in alfalfa breeding programs to develop improved cultivars to manage the bacterial stem blight of alfalfa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glyphosate‐resistant (GR) alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) has been widely adopted in the United States. Exceptional tolerance of GR alfalfa to glyphosate application has been reported as a strength of this technology; however, growers have recently reported potential crop injury under specific environmental conditions. The purpose of this study was to document and characterize the injury and determine best management practices for avoiding injury to GR alfalfa in the Intermountain West. The effects of glyphosate rate and application timing during various seasons were investigated at 24 sites over 5 years, measuring the impact on alfalfa crop height and biomass yield. Summer glyphosate applications did not injure alfalfa. However, spring applications reduced crop height at 76% of sites and biomass yield at 62% of sites. At responsive sites, low (869 g ae ha−1) and high (1739 g ae ha−1) glyphosate rates reduced yield by 0.53 and 1.06 Mg ha−1, respectively. Alfalfa treated with high rates in the late spring, when 15–20 cm tall, had mean yield reductions of 16%–17% compared with untreated alfalfa. These results suggest that glyphosate applications made at tall crop heights or high rates on GR alfalfa are more likely to reduce crop height and yield in the Intermountain West compared with earlier applications at lower rates. We recommend that spring applications using low glyphosate rates occur before alfalfa is 10 cm tall to mitigate the risk of injury. If a high glyphosate rate is necessary, then an application should be made before alfalfa is greater than 5 cm tall. Core Ideas: Some growers have reported potential crop injury to glyphosate‐resistant alfalfa after glyphosate application.Injury appears limited only to spring applications, causing height and yield reductions at the majority of sites.Low rates of glyphosate improved crop safety compared to high rates.Short‐statured alfalfa exhibited less injury than a taller crop when glyphosate was applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potassium (K) is an essential nutrient for plant growth. In K-deficient soils, fertilization has been shown to increase herbage yield of alfalfa. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of K fertilization on alfalfa leaf and stem yield, forage quality, nutrient removal, and plant health of a nonlodging experimental germplasm. Five alfalfa rotations hadK fertilizer applied at three rates (0, 186, and 372 kgK ha-1) to soils already containing sufficient soil test K (223 mg kg-1). No overall yield differences were found related to K application rates, though K removal in total herbage increased by 30-58% with K fertilization, depending on alfalfa stand age. Leaf:stem ratios were not impacted by K fertilization. The concentrations of B, Ca, and Na decreased with K fertilization, while K concentrations increased, which may have resulted in B deficiencies. Leaf in vitro digestibility decreased significantly with the application of K. There was no benefit to crown rot disease resistance with increased K fertilization. This study supports that the addition of K to already sufficient soils does not lead to any additional economic benefits and may reduce productivity due to the reduction of B uptake and in vitro digestibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]