The growth evaluation of introduced leguminous forage Crotalaria alata in plain area of northern Xinjiang

The adaptability and agronomic traits of annual legume forage Crotalaria alatawhich introduced from Uzbekistan in 2012 were evaluated in 2013 and 2014 in Hutubi and Fukang of Xinjiang,respectively. The results showed that C. alatagrew grew well with the plant height of 130~180 cm and roots had nodules to fix nitrogen. During early flowering season, the content of crude protein (CP) was the highest which was 23.02%,the content of crude fiber (CF) was 20.3%. The plant was rich in nutrition containing 17 kinds of amino acids. The fresh yields of forage were 23 833.5 and 21 750.0 kg·ha-1 in Hutubi and Fukang, respectively. Seed yields were 366 and 385.3 kg·ha-1, respectively. Integrative evaluation showed that C. alatais are suitable for extension in northern Xinjiang plain area.