Melilotus alba Medik.-a new cultivated forage plant for the Danube Delta

Abstract

Melilotus alba germplasm collected from the spontaneous flora of the Danube Delta and evaluated for forage production in three experiments organized at Sfantu Gheorghe and Cisla Vadeni proved to be very successful as compared with other forage grasses (Lolium, Festuca, Dactylis, Bromus) and forage legumes (Medicago, Onobrychis, Trifolium). Dry matter production of Melilotus surpassed about 15-80 folds the production of traditional forage species used for comparison in these evaluations.Melilotus alba - largely distributed in the spontaneous flora of the Danube Delta, - seems to be best adapted to the local ecological conditions for forage biomass production. The species may have a future as a new cultivated plant in this part of Romania.

Keywords

• forage plants
• Melilotus alba
• Danube Delta