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    Some effects of boron to the growth and chemical composition of sainfoin (Onobrychis viciaefolia scop.) : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirmeents for the degree of Master of Agricultural Science in Plant Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 1982) Juan, Nenita Fabros
    Some effects of boron on the growth and chemical composition of sainfoin (Onobrychis viciaefolia Scop.) plants cv Fakir were evaluated in a glasshouse. The growth and development of sainfoin plants was not affected by the different levels of boron applied but was affected by nitrogen application and inoculation due to the nodulation failure of the latter. Generally, the root showed the highest dry matter yield and the fastest relative growth rate. Similarly, the total nonstructural carbohydrates of the sainfoin plants were not affected by the different levels of boron. Nitrogen application reduced the total nonstructural carbohydrates of the whole plant. Moreover, when 1 ppm boron was applied, both the shoot and the root yielded the highest total nonstructural carbohydrates. Likewise, root and shoot total nonstructural carbohydrates were reduced by the application of nitrogen. Roots gave a higher total nonstructural carbohydrate yield than the shoot. Boron content of the whole sainfoin plant, the shoot and the root ranging from 0-55 µg/g increased in proportion with the increment of boron applied. Similar results were obtained from boron uptake of the whole plant, the shoot and the root. There was a depression of boron concentrations and boron uptake of the whole plant, the shoot and the root, when nitrogen was applied, implying a deficiency situation. Although nonsignificant effects of boron levels were obtained from nitrogen and phosphorus concentration and uptake, respectively, of both shoot and root, application of 2 ppm boron reduced the concentration of nitrogen but not nitrogen uptake, and reduced phosphorus concentration and phosphorus uptake. Application of nitrogen increased shoot and root nitrogen contents and nitrogen uptake but decreased root and shoot phosphorus concentrations and phosphorus uptake. It was concluded that levels of 2 ppm boron concentration were not adequate to support satisfactory growth when plants were supplied with sufficient levels of other nutrients. Keywords: Boron, nitrogen, Rhizobium, total nonstructural carbohydrates (TNC)
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    An investigation into the efficiency of nitrogen fixation in Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia scop.) : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Plant Science at Massey University.
    (Massey University, 1981) Hume, Lionel John
    Earlier reports have indicated that growth of the forage legume sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) is limited by its capacity to fix adequate quantities of N2 . Symbiotic N2 fixation and development of sainfoin up to the flowering stage was studied under glasshouse conditions. Growth and development of plants that were dependent solely on fixed N2 for their N requirements, were compared with plants supplied with abundant combined (nitrate) N. The effect of a low rate of combined N on symbiotic N2 fixing activity and plant growth was also investigated. From an early stage, plants dependent on symbiotic N2 fixation had lower relative growth rates than plants supplied with combined N, indicating that the N2 fixing system of sainfoin was not capable of providing enough N to meet the requirements of the plant, or that N2 fixation required an energy input greater than that for the assimilation of mineral N. The mode of N nutrition was found to influence the dry matter distribution in sainfoin to a greater extent than reported for most other legumes. Plants dependent on symbiotic N2 fixation allocated a substantially greater proportion of dry matter to root and nodule growth and consequently had lower top:root + nodule ratios than plants provided with combined N. Sainfoin was found to produce abundant nodules, and had a relatively high nodule weight in relation to total plant weight, compared to other legumes. Specific nodule activity, however, was found to be relatively low, and possible reasons for this are discussed. For plants dependent on symbiotic N2 fixation, total plant N, and hence N2 fixation appeared to be the major factor limiting plant growth. Evidence was obtained which indicated that the N2 fixing system of sainfoin may be relatively inefficient. The observed ratio of C2 H2 reduced:N2 fixed, was higher than the theoretical ratio, and appeared to be high relative to other legumes, which suggested possiblewastage of energy by the N2 fixing enzyme. The addition of a low rate of combined Nhad the effect of immediately reducing N2 [C2 H2 ] fixing activity, and the combined N appeared to substitute for, rather than supplement, symbiotic N2 fixation, further indicating an inefficient symbiotic N2 fixing system. Leaf area ratio was found to be lower in sainfoin dependent on N2 fixation than reported values for other N2 fixing legumes; this suggests that sainfoin is less efficient at intercepting photosynthetically active radiation. Leaf area was highly correlated withtotal plant N, and there was evidence that this link was via energy supply to the symbiotic N2 fixing system. Thus leaf area may have been limiting N2 fixation and hence total plant. N. Overall, a mutual dependence between the ability of the root nodules to fix N2 and the ability of the leaves to supply energy was indicated. There was evidence that both of these factors may play a role in limiting the growth of sainfoin, relative to other more productive legumes, such as lucerne.
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    The influence of environment on growth and development in the forage legume sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science in Botany at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1977) Sheely, Patrick Joseph
    The effect of environment on growth and development in the forage legume sainfoin is examined. A comparative study has been made between five sainfoin cultivars (Melrose, Giant, Italian, Krasnodar, Common) and also between genotypes within each cultivar. The effect of plant age on growth and development of cv. Melrose is examined. Results show that this cultivar had a juvenile phase of approximately 60 days when plants were grown in long days (LD) in a warm glasshouse (GH). When Melrose sainfoin was grown in small pots reproductive development was inhibited. After data on root-and shoot growth and development had been obtained various hypotheses are presented that might explain this result. The effect of gibberellic acid (GA3 ) on growth and development of Melrose in a warm GH is examined. Low concentrations of GA3 , caused plants with a prostrate leaf and rosette habit to change to a erect leaf and rosette habit in short days (SD). Application of higher concentrations of GA3 to plants in SD made plants elongate stems, although, inflorescence initiation did not occur. GA3 , when applied to warm LD grown plants, decreased the juvenile period, lowered the critical photoperiod for inflorescence initiation and possibly helped to overcome this observed root growth/small pot size inhibition on reproductive development, however, GA3 did not cause an increase in the percentage of plants with macroscopically visible inflorescences (mvi) with only 30-50% having mvi. Results on the effects of low temperature on growth and development are presented for all cultivars. Those plants that did not flower in long days when held in the warm glasshouse did so after low temperature treatment. Plants held in natural cool short days initiated inflorescences, although, these inflorescences did not develop to anthesis while held under these environmental conditions. Result? on the effect of critical day length on continued inflorescence development after SD low temperature treatment show that a daylength of approximately 14 hours was necessary for inflorescences to reach anthesis. Data Is also presented on inflorescence initiation and development for Melrose plants grown in the natural cool environment with various extended photoperiods. The relative importance of these environmental and hormonal factors, and the Interactions between them, in controlling growth and development is discussed.
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    Dual mutualistic associations in sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Agricultural Science in Agronomy at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1982) Kon, Kee Fui
    Recent studies established that many legumes, when infected with the appropriate Rhizobium spp. and arbuscular fungi, nodulated better and exhibited greater dinitrogen fixation than plants infected with only the rhizobia. A similar study, therefore, was carried out in a glasshouse using sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.), a legume that is rapidly gaining recognition as a potential forage crop in New Zealand and other parts of the world. Pre-germinated seeds (cv. Fakir) were planted in sterilized soils and incubated with an effective Rhizobium spp. (strain NZP 5301), a mixture of endophytes (Gigaspora magarita Becker & Hall, Glomus fasciculata (Thax. sensu Gerd.) Gerdemann & Trappe and Glomus tenuis (Greenall) Hall), or both eht rhizobia and endophytes. The experiment also included a control, without any inoculation. Endophyte infection, nodulation and dinitrogen fixation, total nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations, and plant growth and development were determined on eleven sequential samplings over about twenty weeks, up to the stage of green inflorescence. Arbuscular mycorrhiza formation did not occur with the first endophyte inoculation, containing Gigaspora magarita Becker & Hall, even after 93 days of growth. This is probably because the inoculum used consisted of a low quantity of viable spores and mycelia. The second inoculation, containing the three endophyte species, produced only a low degree of infection between day 115 and 137, possibly because the extensive root lignification and relatively higher root phosphorus concentration (0.50%) restricted fungal invasion and establishment within the root cortex. Mycorrhiza formation did not increase phosphate uptake, improve nodulation and dinitrogen fixation, or increase plant growth. This is due probably to the already well-developed root systems that were efficiently exploiting the small soil volume within the bags. Rhizobia-inoculated plants produced more nodules, larger nodules and consequently, a greater nodule dry weight than the uninoculated plants. The nodules produced in the inoculated plants were red instead of green as in the uninoculated plants, and exhibited a greater dinitrogen fixation. As a result, these inoculated plants contained a higher concentration of shoot, root and nodule nitrogen, and a greater dry weight accumulation in the shoots and nodules. The shoot and nodule phosphorus concentrations, however, were lower in the rhizobia-inoculated than in the uninoculated plants due to the greater amount of shoot and nodule tissues which caused a dilution effect. These rhizobia effects on nodulation and dinitrogen fixation, nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations, and plant growth and development became more prominent with time. The relatively higher nodule phosphorus concentration when compared with the shoot and root phosphorus concentrations suggests that phosphorus was presumably required in large quantities by the dinitrogen-fixing system.
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    The effect of water stress on water relations, carbon isotype discrimination, and shoot and root growth of sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) and lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Department of Plant Science at Massey University
    (Massey University, 1994) Mir-Hosseini-Dehabadi, Seyed Reza
    Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) is a useful forage legume regarded as having drought resistant attributes. Also, it does not cause bloat in ruminants and is not sensitive to alfalfa weevil (Hypera postica. L). Although the physiological and morphological responses to water stress of lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) are well known the responses of sainfoin to water stress have not been fully studied. In this study the physiological and morphological responses of sainfoin to water stress were investigated, with lucerne used as a reference plant. The results of the indoor and outdoor studies showed sainfoin had useful characteristics for forage production in dry conditions. Relative to lucerne it had a lower yield, due to lower leaf area, lower stem number and poor regrowth. However, sainfoin responded to water stress at least as well as lucerne. Sainfoin had a higher root:shoot ratio and a lower specific leaf area ratio than lucerne, indicating a higher allocation of carbohydrate to the roots, and a lower leaf surface area for transpiration in sainfoin than for lucerne. Water stress decreased the yield of lucerne proportionally more than sainfoin mostly due to the greater reduction in the above ground dry weight of lucerne. The indoor study of root characteristics of sainfoin and lucerne in 1m tall tubes showed that in terms of root development sainfoin responded to water stress better than lucerne. Although sainfoin had equal root mass and root length to lucerne, the root distribution of sainfoin at below 0.6 m depths was greater than for lucerne. As water stress developed sainfoin roots grew below 0.6 m earlier than lucerne roots. Sainfoin had a higher root osmotic adjustment than lucerne and also maintained higher (less negative) leaf water potential than lucerne. The stomatal resistances (Rs) of sainfoin and lucerne were equal, but Rs was not distributed equally between adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces. The Rs of the adaxial leaf surface of sainfoin was lower and more sensitive to water stress than the Rs of the abaxial leaf surface. The different Rs of the adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces of sainfoin was partly due to the different stomatal frequencies of the respective surfaces. Comparison of sainfoin cultivars in a climate room showed that the water use efficiencies (WUE) of Remont, Fakir, Cotswold-Common, and Eski, were similar. Remont was more sensitive to water stress than the other three cultivars, and Eski produced a greater root length and mass than other cultivars. The growth of Eski was initially slower than that of the Remont in both the indoor and the outdoor studies. However, lucerne grew faster than all the sainfoin cultivars. Over three harvests in the field the yields of Eski and Remont were similar but lucerne out yielded both sainfoin cultivars. Sainfoin produced a greater proportion of its yield earlier than lucerne, whereas lucerne distributed its yield throughout the whole season, indicating that sainfoin is adapted to regions with precipitation in only winter and spring. The results of the carbon isotope discrimination (Δ) analysis for the indoor and outdoor studies showed Δ had a negative correlation with WUE, leaf water potential, osmotic potential, and stomatal resistance, but had a positive correlation with relative water content, turgor potential, transpiration rate, and photosynthetic rate. These correlations demonstrated the usefulness of this technique for evaluating the responses of plants to water stress. The stressed plants always had lower Δ than the control plants showing the higher WUE of stressed plants. The Δ of roots was higher than the Δ of the leaves suggesting that the growth of leaves occurred in conditions that were an average drier than for the growth of roots. This was supported by the lower (more negative) water potential of leaves than roots. The Δ of the roots below 0.6 m depth was higher than the Δ of roots above 0.1 m depth suggesting the roots above 0.1m grew under higher water stress than the roots below 0.6m depth. Over three harvests in the field the Δ of Eski and lucerne were similar and the Δ of Remont was higher than for Eski and lucerne. In conclusion, sainfoin was found to have several useful attributes for growth and survival in dry regions. Of the sainfoin cultivars examined Eski was the best adapted to water stress. Relative to lucerne, sainfoin yielded less, but had a similar water use efficiency, a shorter season of growth, a greater root: shoot ratio, deeper roots and better maintenance of leaf water potential under water stress.
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    A study of growth and management of sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 1985) Fortune, James Alan
    This thesis reports on studies designed to examine the production patterns of sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) subject to defoliation. Dry matter yield estimates, seasonal distribution of production, plant disease and long term survival were considered for three sainfoin cultivars in a field trial run over a three year period. Assimilate partitioning and closer examination of plant morphology was studied using two of the cultivars grown under controlled environment conditions. Sainfoin was successfully established in the spring period and early growth rates and dry matter production were at least as good as those of lucerne. All cultivars grown showed a tendency towards relatively early flowering when compared to lucerne. Only Fakir, the earliest flowering of the three cultivars, regrew sufficiently to be harvested a second time under the conservative harvesting regime imposed to maximise uninterupted growth during the establishment year. The results of the two different cutting heights provided little evidence to support the higher of the two cuts (12-15cm). The main outcome was to leave about 25% of the dry matter behind as stem with little gain in residual leaf area to provide a photosynthetic surface for regrowth. Subsequent growth and regrowth cycles in the field gave yields of up to 12 t/ha of herbage dry matter in a single season. All cultivar and management combinations tended to show poor autumn growth, with the plant adopting a rosette habit when lucerne was still actively growing. Also while the cultivar and.management combinations gave a variable number of harvests in a given season, there was no evidence to support any one management approach as being superior in production. The later maturing cultivar Melrose did provide some indication that higher yields may be possible from a later maturing plant, but also provided evidence of the potential for marked leaf loss when the plant was maturing under drying conditions. Leaf loss aggravated the situation of low leaf area indices that was shown for all three sainfoin cultivars. Plant losses in the field trial resulted in uneven stands and contributed to the sampling variability which reduced the sensitivity of the experiment. While some of the losses were possibly related to the plants consistently harvested at a vegetative stage, all sainfoin plants were susceptible to a crown-root rot complex. This was indicated by necrosis of the crown tissue and vascular tissue of the tap-root which was often extensive and extending well below ground level. Controlled environment studies provided further evidence of the poor regrowth ability displayed in the field. This would appear to be a result of a combination of the poor development of any new shoots to provide a start point for regrowth, little leaf area remaining at the base of the plant after harvest to provide a photosynthetic surface, and losses of root and nodule tissue from the plant after the stress of harvest. This tissue was subsequently replaced, possibly at the expense of top growth. Movement of assimilates to the root system did not tend to support any hypothesis of a build-up phase which may have interacted with management. Indication of the within-cultivar variation for sainfoin was clearly shown under the controlled environment conditions. Multivariate analysis of the data provided a preliminary estimate of the gains that might be possible if certain groups of attributes formed the base of a selection programme. Future prospects for sainfoin in grassland farming were proposed in the light of this information, and that gained from the field trial. These focused on the need to more fully evaluate sainfoin as a species, or group of species, and establish its demands rather than assume it will conform to the management model provided by other summer active forage crops.