Effect of foliar application of free amino acids on alfalfa performance under rainfed conditions Pooryousef Mahmood, Alizadeh Khoshnood1,* Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, Islamic Azad University, Mahabad Branch, Mahabad, Iran 1Dryland Agricultural Research Institute, Maragheh, Iran *E-Mail: khdizaj@yahoo.com
Online published on 27 March, 2014. Abstract This work investigated the efficiency of free amino acid compounds to improve production of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) under rainfed conditions during 2011–12. Experiment was conducted as complete randomized block design with three replications at three already established alfalfa cv. Garayonja fields. There was two different spraying times including one spray at early 4–6 leaves stage and three times spraying started at 46 leaves stage with two weeks’ intervals. The experiment included 12 treatments resulting from factorial of six spray treatments and two spraying times. Spray treatments included Aminol-forte, Kadostim, Fosnutren and Humiforte at 1 l/ha, along with water spray and no spray as control. Results indicated that increasing the spraying times of plants with amino acid compounds significantly (P<0.01) increased plant height, dry biomass weight and crude protein content compared to control. Different amino acid compounds showed different effects regarding the studied traits. The highest fresh biomass (14 t/ha) achieved in using Kadestim which was 100% more than control. Application of Aminol-forte resulted in the highest crude protein content (22%) comparing 17% in the control. It was concluded that foliar spray of free amino acids could enhance the quality and quantity of alfalfa in the rainfed conditions. Top Keywords Alfalfa, aminol-forte, Fosnutren, Humiforte, Kadostim, Medicago sativa. Top |