Impact of various moisture regime on selected growth-production characteristics of Medicago sativa L. and Trifolium pratense L.

The aim of the experiment was to find out the impact of different moisture regime on selected indicators of the growth and production process of Medicago sativa L. cv. Zuzana and Trifolium pratense L. cv. Poľana. The pot experiment was carried out at the Department of Grassland Ecosystems and Forage Crops, FAFR SUA in Nitra in 2015. There were evaluated two variants of irrigation: 1st – irrigation once a week and 2nd – irrigation twice a week with a single dose of 300 ml of water per pot. The results of the experiment showed a positive effect on the height of Medicago sativa L. and Trifolium pratense L. plants (p = 0.006 and p = 0.316), the number of stems (p = 0.001 and p = 0.002), dry phytomass production (p = 0.001 and p = 0.044) and the quantity of harvest residues of evaluated legume forages (p = 0.100 and p = 0.146) with a general more visible effect under irrigation twice a week. By comparison of both species, irrigation twice a week was more effective for Medicago sativa L. on plant height, number of stems and weight of above-ground phytomass, whereas for Trifolium pratense L. only on the weight of harvest residues compared to irrigation once a week.