Abstract
Kochia scoparia L. Schrad belong to the family Chenopodiaceae. It was established in America in the early 1900s and it has been growing in Mexico for the last 25–30 years. Kochia grows well on soils with salinity problems, so it represents a good option as a fodder crop. This paper deals with the evaluation of kochia under different climates and on soils with salinity problems in Mexico. In order to evaluate forage and seed production kochia was established in three locations. Results indicated that kochia is a good alternative for soils with salinity problems; due to its low water requirement, it can be helpful in reducing aquifer over-exploitation; it is also drought resistant. Cattle can eat kochia safely if no more than 40% is included in the ration. Due to its high seed production, care should be taken in its control. It is necessary to reinforce research on animals’ behavior with different concentrations of kochia in the ration and to establish an interdisciplinary team of researchers, working together with producers and cattle breeders, in order to utilize kochia safely and efficiently.
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© 1993 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Garduño, M.A. (1993). Kochia: A new alternative for forage under high salinity conditions of Mexico. In: Lieth, H., Al Masoom, A.A. (eds) Towards the rational use of high salinity tolerant plants. Tasks for vegetation science, vol 27. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1858-3_47
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1858-3_47
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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