Abstract
To clalify the benefits of using lime-coated alfalfa seeds, the establishment and yield were surveyed for three years under broadcasting and row seeding conditions, compared with the vacuum-processed seeds. No beneficial effects of the coated seeds were observed on the growth of seedlings one month after sowing. However, the survival rate of plants was about 10% higher for coated seeds than vacuum-processed seeds after the second harvest in the seeding year. The plants grown from coated seeds were heavier than that from vacuum processed seeds up to the first harvest of the second year, when copmpared with plants grown at the same plant density. In case of broadcasting, yield was apploximately 30% higher when using coated seeds than using vacuum-processed seeds for two years after seeding. In case of row seeding, however, the increase in yield attributed to coated seeds occured only in the seeding year. The seeding rates of lime-coated seeds can be saved to 45-60% of the vacuum-processed seeds, through the effects of early nodule formation.
