• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.310-315
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• 2000

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) plants have been reported to contain water-soluble substances that are autotoxic as well as allelopathic. Laboratory experiment through a petri-dish assay with imbibed seeds was conducted to evaluate both autotoxic and allelopathic effects of alfalfa leaf extracts on the germination and early seedling growth of alfalfa, red clover, crested wheatgrass, and Russian wildrye. Alfalfa seed germination was delayed dependent on extract concentration, with no difference in final germination at 72 hours. Root growth of alfalfa was stimulated up to 14% above control at very low concentrations of both leaf and stem extracts of alfalfa and was significantly reduced at extract concentration of more than 0.5g dry tissue/L (${gL}_{-1}$). Leaf extracts were generally more autotoxic for root growth than were stem extracts. Hypocotyl growth was not affected by all the concentrations of both leaf and stem extracts. Root length of legumes was more sensitive to the autotoxic chemicals from leaf extracts than was germination or shoot length. Hypocotyl growth of two legume plants and plant height of two grasses were not influenced by extracts. Seed germination and root growth of legumes were more inhibited by aqueous extracts of alfalfa leaf than were those of grasses. This result indicates autotoxic effect of alfalfa leaf extracts seems to be greater than allelopathic effect.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.184-188
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• 2011

The melatonin, total polyphenol contents, and DPPH radical scavenging activity were determined in alfalfa, chicory, rape, red kale and sunflower after germination for four days at $24{\pm}0.1^{\circ}C$. Compared with seeds, melatonin content was increased in all sprouts, at the highest level in red kale (2,502.9 pg/g, 5.6 times higher than seed) followed by rape (2,430.1 pg/g), chicory (2,037.7 pg/g), alfalfa (1,160.8 pg/g) and sunflower (768.2 pg/g) sprout, however, the addition of tryptophan (0.5 mM), the precursor of melatonin synthesis, did not show any desirable effect. Both polyphenol content and DPPH radical scavenging activity were substantially increased in chicory (8.7 mg/g, 66%), rape (10.7 mg/g, 51%) and red kale (11.0 mg/g, 53%) sprouts, but not in alfalfa and sunflower sprouts. Melatonin content per gram polyphenol (ng/g) was also increased in all sprouts through germination. Germination was effective in increasing melatonin in all seeds tested, while its effect on polyphenol content and DPPH radical scavenging activity was species dependent.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.141-149
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• 1997

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of pathogenic hngi(Fusarium culmorurn, Fusarium oxyspomm fsp. lycopersici, Fusaiurn solani, Rhizoctonia solani), pregermination time(0, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 48 hrs.) and temperature($12^{\circ}C, 18^C{\circ}, $28^C{\circ}$) on growth of alfalfa seedling. The survival rate of alfalfa was decreased by pathogenic hngi and treatment of pregermination and survival rate of alfalfa resulted in higher than that of nontreatment of pregermination. Pathogenicity of fungi was increased as increased the temperature(P<0.05). The emergence rate of alfalfa was decreased when pathogenic fungi were inoculated. However, the emergence rate was increased when seeds were pregerminated(P<0.05)

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.25-30
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• 1987

There are differences in opinion as to whether nitrogen fertilizer should be used when establishing alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). Various reports show that under a hot environment, rhizobia (Rhizobium meliloti) are not as effective in fixing atmospheric nitrogen as they are under moderate temperatures. It is also believed that the addition of nitrogen fertilizer inhibits nodulation of alfalfa seedlings. A replicated experiment was conducted under controlled environmental conditions at the University of Nevada-Reno, Reno, Nevada, USA, to determine the effects of nitrogen application on seedling growth and nodulation of alfalfa grown in a hot environment. Sterile sand was used as the growing media to which a complete nutrient solution minus nitrogen was applied volumetrically to each pot daily. In addition, half of the pots received NH4-$NO_3$, at the rate of 11.2 kg per ha at seeding and at two and four weeks after planting giving a total nitrogen application rate of 33.6 kg per ha during the seven-week experimental period. Rhizobia inoculant (R-12) consisted of a mixture of strains 171-15a, 1682c and 80 PI 265 of (Rhizobium meliloti). Inoculant was applied to the seeds prior to planting and to the sand media at two and four weeks after seeding. Twenty seeds were planted in pots 14.0 cm in diameter and 11.5 cm deep. Plants were thinned to ten plants per pot after emergence and were grown in a controlled environment chamber with a 16-hour light period. Soil temperature at 6 cm depth ranged from 17.4^{\circ}C.$ to 31.1^{\circ}C.$ and had a daily mean of 26.5^{\circ}C.$. Plants were harvested at weekly intervals for seven weeks. Root, shoot and total length, dry weight, volume and number of nodules per plant were determined. Root, shoot, and total length were greater in seedlings grown in soil where nigrogen was applied than that grown in soil to which no nitrogen was applied. The average size of the seedlings as determined by volume and weight was more than two times greater where plants were fertilized with nitrogen. Nodule number per seedling was also greater when nitrogen was applied compared to those which received no nitrogen. The differences were greater as the plants became older. The rhizobia did not fix enough nitrogen for adequate growth of seedlings. This is probably due to high temperature growing conditions that caused the rhizobia to become relatively ineffective as compared to cooler growing conditions. Data suggests it would be desirable to apply nitrogen at seeding when alfalfa is established under hot conditions that occur in mid- or late summer.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.151-156
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• 1986

There are differences in recommendations in the USA as to whether nitrogen fertilizer should be applied when establishing alfalfa (Medicago sativa L). The reason for not applying nitrogen is because some researchers found the addition of nitrogen reduced nodulation of alfalfa plants. A replicated experiment was conducted under controlled environmental conditions at the University of Nevada-Reno, Reno, Nevada, USA, to determine the effects of nitrogen application on seedling growth and nodulation of alfalfa when grown in a cool environment. A sterile sand was used in the growing media to which a complete nutrient solution minus nitrogen was applied volumetrically to each pot daily. Half of the pots received $NH_4NO_3$, at the rate of 11.2 kg/ha, at seeding and two and four weeks after planting, giving a total nitrogen application rate of 33.6 kg/ha. Rhizobia inoculant (R-12) consisted of a mixture of strains 171-15a. 1682c and 80 PI 265 of Rhizobium meliloti. Inoculant was applied to the seeds prior to planting and to the sand media at two and four weeks after seeding. Twenty seeds were planted in pots 14.0 cm in diameter and 11.5 cm deep. Seedlings were thinned after emergence to ten plants per pot. They were grown in a controlled environment chamber with a 16-hour light period. Soil temperatures at 6 cm depth ranged from $5.7^{\circ}C\;to\;21.5^{\circ}C$ and had a daily mean of $16.2^{\circ}C$ Plants were harvested at weekly intervals for seven weeks at which time root, shoot and total length, dry weight, volume and number of nodules per plant were determined. Root, shoot and total length were not affected by nitrogen fertilizer. However, application of nitrogen increased the size of the seedlings as determined by dry weight and volume when compared to plants which were not fertilized. This indicates that rhizobia did not fix enough atmospheric nitrogen to promote good growth. Nitrogen application resulted in significantly more nodules per plant. The effect of nitrogen fertilizer became more apparent as the plant became older. Results of this experiment show there are benefits from applying nitrogen at a low rate when establishing alfalfa under a cool environment.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.1865-1869
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• 2018

This study examined the effects of alfalfa seed germination on growth of Salmonella enterica. We investigated the population changes of S. enterica during early sprout development. We found that the population density of S. enterica, which was inoculated on alfalfa seeds was increased during sprout development under all experimental temperatures, whereas a significant reduction was observed when S. enterica was inoculated on fully germinated sprouts. To establish a model for predicting S. enterica growth during alfalfa sprout development, the kinetic growth data under isothermal conditions were collected and evaluated based on Baranyi model as a primary model for growth data. To elucidate the influence of temperature on S. enterica growth rates, three secondary models were compared and found that the Arrhenius-type model was more suitable than others. We believe that our model can be utilized to predict S. enterica behavior in alfalfa sprout and to conduct microbial risk assessments.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.277-284
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• 2006

Seed priming is a useful technique for early establishment of seedling. In this experiment, the conditions for priming of pasture seeds (tall fescue, orchardgrass, alfalfa and white clover) have been optimized to ensure an early germination and more uniform growth of seedlings. The experiment was conducted in a split plot design with three replications. The main plots consisted of five different materials such as $KNO_3,\;KH_2PO_4,\;K_3PO_4,\;Ca(NO_3){_2}$ and PEG. The subplots were consisted of three chemical concentration groups such as 500mM (or 10%), 100mM (or 20%) and 200mM (or 30%). Effect of priming materials and its concentrations were different in all four pasture seeds examined. Chemical concentration did not show any significant effects on the germination of tall fescue, however, germination of tall fescue primed with $Ca(NO_3){_2}\;and\;K_3PO_4$ materials were higher than the others. The concentration of prime materials did not affect on the germination of orchardgrass, but germination of orchardgrass primed with $KH_2PO_4$ was showed better result than the other materials examined. The seeds of alfalfa and white clover primed with PEG showed better germination capability than the other priming materials. In addition, chemical concentration of primed seeds also showed significant difference on the germination of alfalfa and white clover. These results suggest that seed priming induced earlier and higher germination for all four pastures tested. However, the, degree of priming effectiveness on pasture species depending on the priming materials and its concentrations.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.291-302
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• 1998

The purpose of this study is to clarify the effect of plant growth regulator "Uniconazole-P" on the control of growth and seed producrtion of pasture plants under grown in sward conditions. Four species examined were orchard grass, timothy, red clover and alfalfa. Uniconazole-P concentrations were control(0), 20ppm and 40ppm, and foliar sprayed on canopy structures at the floral differentiation stages of grasses and at the begining of flowering stages of legumes, respectively. 1. Yield components and seed yield components of grasses and legumes were responded differently between Uniconazole-P concentrations, species and the stages of growth. 2. At early heading stages, the plant length and culm length of grasses were reduced by Uniconazole-P treatments. On the contrary, the dry weight of ears per area and chlorophyll concentrations were increased by Uniconazole-P treatments. 3. At seed ripening stages, the number of ears, dry weight of a tiller, dry weight of a ear, dry weight of ears per area and dry weight of seeds in orchardgrass, and the number of ears, dry weight of a ear, dry weight of ears per area, dry weight of seeds and harvest index in timothy were increased by Uniconazole-P treatments. 4. At early flowering stages, the plant length and total length of internodes were reduced by Uniconazole-P treatments. On the contrary, total length of branches and chlorophyll concentrations of red clover and alfalfa were increased by Uniconazole-P treatments. Particularly, the number of inflorescences and dry weight of inflorescences of red clover was increased greatly by Uniconazole-P treatments. 5. At seed ripening stages, the plant length of both of legumes were reduced by Uniconazole-P treatments. On the contrary, the dry weight of a inflorescence, dry weight of inflorescences per area, dry weight of seeds and harvest index of alfalfa was increased by Uniconazole-P treatments. 6. Seed production of grasses by Uniconazole-P treatments can be explained as following processes at each stage of growth. 1) reduced in plant length and culm lengths at early heading stages, 2) increased in number of ears and dry weight of a ear at both of stages, and 3) increased in dry weight of ears per area, dry weight of seeds and harvest index at seed ripening stages. 7. Seed production of legumes by Uniconazole-P treatments can be explained as following processes at each stage of growth. 1) reduced in plant length and total length of internodes and increased in number of branches and total length of branches at early flowering stages, 2) increased in number of inflorescences and dry weight of inflorescences at both of stages, and 3) increased in dry weight of seeds and harvest index at seed ripening stages.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.19-23
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• 1995

Cotyledon and leaf development of six important forage legums were compared to study their contribution to the seedling growth, Cotyledons of forage legumes expanded their size rapidly during one week maximum size was reached and entered senescence. Larger seeds produced greater colyledon area, and speed of colyledon expansion was closely associated with seedling growth. Earlier onset leaf production and earlier leaf development were major determinant factor initial seedling growth. Alfalfa and red clover which have larger seeds were good in seedling vigor with larger photosynthetic area. Alsike clover and white clover with small seeds showed also good seedling vigor, as they developed leaves early with relatively high photosynthetic rate. On the other hand, though lespedeza has heavy seeds, its seedling vigor was very poor with slow photosynthetic area development and low photosynthetic rate.

• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.225-231
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• 2022

In this study, the conditions of dry heat treatment (21 days at 65℃, 16 days at 70℃, 10 days at 75℃, and 7 days at 80℃) were investigated to inactivate Bacillus cereus ATCC 12480, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC SSA81, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, Escherichia coli O157:H7 ATCC 43894, and Salmonella Typhimurium ATCC 14028 on alfalfa seeds, without affecting the rate of germination of seeds. Alfalfa seeds were inoculated at levels of 6-7 log CFU/g and treated with dry heat at 65℃, 70℃, 75℃, and 80℃; thereafter, the rate of seed germination was determined. The rate of germination was set at 70%, according to the market standards. The bacteria were inactivated when B. cereus was treated with dry heat for 21 days at 65℃, 18 days at 70℃, 14 days at 75℃, and 4 days at 80℃; L. monocytogenes was treated for 21 days at 65℃, 18 days at 70℃, 12 days at 75℃, and 7 days at 80℃; S. aureus was treated for 18 days at 65℃, 18 days at 70℃, 11 days at 75℃, and 4 days at 80℃; E. coli O157:H7 was treated for 21 days at 65℃, 18 days at 70℃, 12 days at 75℃, and 6 days at 80℃; and Sal. Typhimurium was treated for 24 days at 65℃, 22 days at 70℃, 14 days at 75℃, and 7 days at 80℃. For all bacteria, the D-value (R² = 0.5656-0.7957) significantly decreased when the temperature increased from 65℃ to 80℃ (P<0.05). Since dry heat treatment of alfalfa seeds at 80℃ for 7 days affects their germination rate, dry heat treatment at 75℃ for 14 days is the most effective way to ensure their safety. This study suggests a potential method of bacterial inactivation using dry heat treatment to increase the microbiological safety of sprouts.