CHANGES IN THE DEFOLIATION FREQUENCY TO RECOVER PLANT DENSITY IN AN ALFALFA PASTURE (Medicago sativa L.)

Abstract

With the objective of evaluating the effect of the frequency of cutting in the recovery of plants in an alfalfa pasture (Medicago sativa L.), an
experiment was established to evaluate stem density (SD), plant density (PD), and stem weight (SW). The treatments consisted in four seasonal cutting frequencies (3, 4, 5 and 6 weeks in spring-summer, and 7, 6,  and 4 weeks in fall-winter) distributed in a completely random design. The highest PD was observed in the five-week frequency. For all the cutting frequencies it was observed that the highest SD took place in fall-winter and the lowest during spring-summer. The lowest SW was in spring in a frequency of three weeks, and the highest in summer with cutting interval of six weeks.