Effect of cutting under high temperature on regrowth and quality of five alfalfa cultivars

To study the regrowth of alfalfa under high temperature and the effect of different cultivars on yield and quality of regrowth, five alfalfa cultivarsin the Dongting Lake Area were harvested under high temperature; yield wasmeasuredon August 1st,which is the fifth cutting of the plant’s first year. The sixth cutting was on September 21st. The results showed that plant regrowth and fresh grass yield of WL656 and WL903 (high fall dormancy grade) were better than that of WL363 (low fall dormancy grade) on the fifth cutting(P0.05). The fresh grass yield of WL903 was significantly higher than that of other cultivars on the sixth cutting. The proportionsof crude protein, neutral detergent fiberandacid detergent fiber were significantly different among cultivars, but the contents themselves did not apparently change among cultivars. The comprehensive performance of WL903 and WL712 (both high fall dormancy grades) was better than the others. Cultivars WL903 and WL712 were candidate cultivars with heat resistance that warrants further study.