World Distribution and Historical Developments -- Morphology and Anatomy -- The flower Sterility Mechanisms and Pollination Control -- Energy Accumulation and Utilization -- Environmental Physiology -- Cold Drought and Heat Tolerance -- Relationships with Other Species in a Mixture -- Nodulation and Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation -- Chemical Composition of Herbage -- Genetics and Breeding Procedures -- Breeding for Forage Yield and Quality -- Breeding for Disease Resistance -- Highlights in the United States -- Breeding for Nematode Resistance -- Breeding for Insect Resistance -- Adaptation Varieties and Usage -- Establishing the Stand -- Nutrition and Fertilizer Use -- Water Relationships and Irrigation -- Cutting Schedules and Maintaining Pure Stands -- Diseases -- Insects and Related Pests -- Taxonomy and Cytogenetics of Medicago -- Weeds and Weed Control -- Equipment for Harvesting Storing and Feeding -- Feeding Value and On-farm Feeding -- Role in Feedlot Feeding -- Pasture Production and Utilization -- Processed Products for Feed and Food Industries -- Seed Characteristics -- Seed Production Practices -- The Seed Industry -- Highlights of Research Around the World -- Future Trends in the United States -- Index -- Cytology and Evolution of the Medicago sativa-falcata Complex -- Front Matter.

The Alfalfa Management Guide is designed especially for busy growers, with to-the-point recommendations, useful images of diseased plants and pests, and quick-reference tables and charts. Revised in 2011, this edition of Alfalfa Management Guide covers the latest strategies for alfalfa establishment, production, and harvest-soil testing, fertilizing, integrated pest management, rotation, and more.

Best known as an animal feed, Alfalfa Medicago sativa is one of the most important and widely produced livestock crops grown throughout the temperate world. "Alfalfa and Relatives: Evolution and Classification of Medicago" provides an in-depth introduction to the Medicago genus, exploring its evolution, breeding and adaptation. Not only are Alfalfa's agricultural and environmental benefits unsurpassed but, due to technological advances, this staple crop is now being developed as a source of human food extracts, pharmaceuticals, enzymes, industrial chemicals, and biofuels. Through this detailed text the authors define the ecological applications of the plant whilst carefully illustrating its economic value and its growing importance as a genetic resource

Forages: The Science of Grassland Agriculture, 7th Edition, Volume II will extensively evaluate the current knowledge and information on forage agriculture. Chapters written by leading researchers and authorities in grassland agriculture are aggregated under section themes, each one representing a major topic within grassland science and agriculture. This 7th edition will include two new additional chapters covering all aspects of forage physiology in three separate chapters, instead of one in previous editions. Chapters will be updated throughout to include new information that has developed since the last edition. This new edition of the classic reference serves as a comprehensive supplement to An Introduction to Grassland Agriculture, Volume I.

This book is the first comprehensive compilation of deliberations on whole genome sequencing of the diploid and tetraploid alfalfa genomes including sequence assembly, gene annotation, and comparative genomics with the model legume genome, functional genomics, and genomics of important agronomic characters. Other chapters describe the genetic diversity and germplasm collections of alfalfa, as well as development of genetic markers and genome-wide association and genomic selection for economical important traits, genome editing, genomics, and breeding targets to address current and future needs. Altogether, the book contains about 300 pages over 16 chapters authored by globally reputed experts on the relevant field in this crop. This book is useful to the students, teachers, and scientists in the academia and relevant private companies interested in genetics, breeding, pathology, physiology, molecular genetics and breeding, biotechnology, and structural and functional genomics. The work is also useful to seed and forage industries.

Genetically engineered (GE) crops were first introduced commercially in the 1990s. After two decades of production, some groups and individuals remain critical of the technology based on their concerns about possible adverse effects on human health, the environment, and ethical considerations. At the same time, others are concerned that the technology is not reaching its potential to improve human health and the environment because of stringent regulations and reduced public funding to develop products offering more benefits to society. While the debate about these and other questions related to the genetic engineering techniques of the first 20 years goes on, emerging genetic-engineering technologies are adding new complexities to the conversation. Genetically Engineered Crops builds on previous related Academies reports published between 1987 and 2010 by undertaking a retrospective examination of the purported positive and adverse effects of GE crops and to anticipate what emerging genetic-engineering technologies hold for the future. This report indicates where there are uncertainties about the economic, agronomic, health, safety, or other impacts of GE crops and food, and makes recommendations to fill gaps in safety assessments, increase regulatory clarity, and improve innovations in and access to GE technology.