Determination of forage yield and quality traits of blue melilot(Melilotus caeruleus (L.) Desr.) at different growth stages

The aim of this research was to determine the effect of different growth stages on forage yield and some quality properties of blue melilot (Melilotus caeruleus (L.) Desr.) BG-3 line in Hasanaga village-Edirne ecological conditions in 2016-2018. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with three replicates. Line was sown in plots of 8 rows, with a spacing of 20 cm and 5 m in length. The seeds were sown at a rate of 30 kg ha-1 on October 21, 2016 and October 25, 2017. At each year, a basal fertilizer containing N (45 kg ha-1) and P (52.5 kg ha-1) was incorporated into the soil at the time of land preparation. The some morphological characters (plant height, number of leaves per plant, leaf length, leaflet length, leaflet width, and leaf/stem ratio), green fodder yield, dry matter yield and some quality traits (crude protein ratio, acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber ratios) were determined at budding , % 50 bloom and fruit development stages. The plant height, number of leaves per plant, leaf/stem ratio, green fodder yield, dry matter yield, crude protein ratio, acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber ratios were affected by growth stages. In leaf length, leaflet length and width, not differences were found between different growth stages.