Investigation of the Effect of Thermal Tension in Hot Seasons and Interruption of Irrigation at the End of the Growth Season by Silicon Nutrient Solution Sulfonated With S8 Elemental Sulfur on Fresh and Dry Fodder Yield and Protein Content of Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)

This research is an introduction to the combined nutrient of mineral salts by Silicon sulfonated with S8 through aerial organs of the Alfalfa plant. This type of combined nutrition by S8 is called “Matrix Nutrition”. This experiment was launched in October 2022 to study the effect of S8 on increasing the yield of fresh and dry fodder and the percentage of Alfalfa protein content using combined nutrition or Matrix Nutrition on the aerial organ of Alfalfa plant in the condition of interruption of irrigation at the end of the growing season in Moghan region, Ardabil province in Iran. The experiment was carried out in 2 plots, each one being one-hectare land. (In the first plot, S8 was applied for 5 litres per 1000 litres of water in the growth stages as foliar spraying after each crop harvest. No S8 was applied in the second plot.) The 5th and 6th harvests coincided with a dry season in this region and no irrigation was applied in this experiment for the 5th and 6th harvests. Both plots were only irrigated similarly for 1st to 4th harvest. The results obtained from a total of 5 harvests of the Hamedani Variant Alfalfa plant in the Control Plot and 6 harvests of the Hamedani Variant Alfalfa plant in the Experiment Plot indicated the highest yield in the 1st plot treated with S8 in terms of fresh and dry fodder, percentage of dry materials of fodder and protein content with a significant difference of 1% and 5% compared to Control Plot. The difference between the two plots was: fresh fodder 11,610 Kgs/Hectare, i.e., 91.27% higher yield, dry fodder 4,099 Kgs/Hectare, i.e., 140.95% higher yield, increase in dry material percentage for 5.99% and higher protein content of fodder for 1.59% which indicated a significant positive effect of application of S8 nutrient solution as foliar spraying on the increase of yield in fresh and dry fodder in the growing season and specifically at the time of thermal tension (specifically on 2nd and 4th harvest in control plot on June and August) and interruption of irrigation at the end of growth season (5th and 6th harvest of experiment plot).