Alfalfa in China

Dr. Lu Xinshi

Beijing Forestry University

China Grassland Association. CAAA

National Grassland Innovation Alliance

luxinshi304@126.com

China—Grassland country

Grassland 400m. ha 7% of world

Cattle 13m. 9% of world

Dairy caw 15m. 12% of world

Sheep & gaot 36m. 19% of world

products from Livestock

Beef 7.26 m. T

mutton 4.68m. T

Milk 35.45 m. T

Wool 1.20 m.T

Cashmere 19000 T

2018/12/20

Temprate Grassland

alpine Grassland

Arible land

Alfalfa as king in forage production

Alfalfa Growth area 4.7 million. h

Top among all kinds of forages Alfalfa using

▇ Environment revegetation

▇ Farm household feeding

▇ Cash Hay for dairy cow & other6350

597 487

3295

669

1760

366

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

alfalfa sheep grass ote corn Silege an. Raygrass per. Raygrass pennisetum

forage area in China /mu

Alfalfa Gremplasm System

1 Central Gene bank2 Backup Gene Banks7 germplasm pool10 collaboration groups

3497 accessions in gene banks

1000 accessions genetical evaluated

54 new cultivars

14.5t from seed produced system

200ha revegetation land from varieties

四大科技创新体系

Basic Research Units & facilities

32 Departments from Universities

12 National & local Institutes

1 national key laboratory

13 Province Key Laboratory

3 national basic research program

5 national technology program

315 National Science program

Technology support system

National grassland production Alliance

National forage Technology Alliance

National Forage Technology System

36 Research & education units

20 Forage enterprises

22 research experiment station

1115ha demonstration farms

Alfalfa research for production

Genepool and standards

6

——Forage germplasm information network

http://www.chinaforage.com

——National Sci-Tec Resources Platform

http://www.escience.gov.cn

Alfalfa Germplasm information database

China is a part of Original Center for alfalfa germplasm

Medicago sataiva紫花苜蓿

Medicago falcata黄花苜蓿

Medicago veria杂花苜蓿

C H I N A

Medicago Species：

World 56China 35

Xinjiang 19

Original

Center

8

Alfalfa germplasm ecotypes from China

● Eco-types

North Xinjing group very dormancy GD 0.028

South Xinjing group semi dormancy GD 0.005

Mainland intermediate group dormancy GD 0.024

I

IIIII

I 生态类型组

II 生态类型组

III 生态类型组

GD 0.028

GD 0.005

GD 0.024

Germplasm innovation

winter-resisting varieties

Root creeping Varieties

Disease resisting varieties

High yield varieties

Wildly domesticates varieties

Breeding germplasm

394 accessions

34 New Varieties

12 New lines

9

● Nature complex

● Wild sibling species

● Very dormancy germplasm

● Diploid materiel

● ecotypes

10

新品种登记证书

Certificates by

National Logy Committee

for Forage Variety

in China

Alfalfa regional planning depend on dormancy laver

Very suitSuitGeneral suitNot suitVery limit

similarity coefficient

General statue of alfalfa production in China

Distribution area

● Degradation grassland

area irrigated. by well

● Desert-land irr. by river

● Gobi-land by snow-water

● Oasis irri. by river

● Loess plateau dryland

● arable land by rainfull

Alfalfa production in degradation grassland area

raining full: 300-350mm

irrigated: by underground water

area：0.8——1.0 million hector

yield：12t—15t/h

Hay: for dairy cow

Alfalfa production in Gobi area

raining full: 50-100mm

irrigated: flooding by water from mountain snow

area：1——1.2 million hector

yield：12t—15t/h

Hay: for dairy cow

Alfalfa production in humite and warm area

raining full: 800-1000mm

irrigated: no

area：0.1 million hector

yield：12t—15t/h

silage: for dairy cow

Alfalfa production in loess Plateau area

raining full: 300-350mm

irrigated: dryland

area：1.5——2.0 million hector

yield：4t—6t/h

silage: for livestock

pallets: for rabbit/fish

Producibility for high lever Alfalfa Hay

seeding under the film

keep more leaves

cutting and dry

Hay bale making

57%

16%

13%

7% 7%

草捆 bale 草颗粒pellat 草块 cube 半干青贮Silege 其他 others

Propotion of alfalfa cash products for marketing

Hay bale

Pellet

Cube

SilegeOthers

The challenge for research & production

Land resources：

● Arable land is limited in China and there is no enough for forage growth

● The Forage land quality is not good enough, the yield not stable

● The environment condition is more stress

● mountain area more difficult for transportation

Water resources：

●Water resources are not enough for irrigation.

● Water-saving irrigation technology is very important

More Cooperation need for alfalfa future ！

The first World Alfalfa Congress in China