Cattle ranchers in Patagonia face daily low temperatures, frosts and constant winds. Therefore, developing agriculture in this extreme zone is complicated due to the prevailing climatic conditions and the fragile ecosystems.

In the Magallanes Region, ranching is extensive on the basis of natural meadows and each ranch has an area of ​​around 5,000 hectares on average. It has large areas with low animal load (on average it is one sheep per hectare or one bovine every four hectares) and they have a pasture management system between winter and summer.

In November 2019, INIA established the southernmost alfalfa germplasm demonstration unit in Chile with the purpose of evaluating the adaptability of different alfalfa germplasms under these conditions.

This essay is part of an investigation led by Chile's Dr. Carlos Ovalle Molina of INIA La Cruz and in Australia by Dr. Alan Humphries of SARDI (South Australian Research and Development Institute) and is the project led by INIA La Cruz "Study of the potential of native germplasm of Alfalfa, to improve tolerance to water stress".

Jorge Ivelic-Sáez, Ing. Agr. Magister in soil sciences is the professional in charge of this test in the Magallanes region, “Incorporating Patagonia in this evaluation has been very interesting since it allows us to compare the results obtained here with respect to those obtained in areas of our country with similar characteristics, such as the dry land in Cauquenes since they are also marginal areas, with highly eroded soils ”.

The use of alfalfa in the Magallanes Region constitutes another species that integrates the pastoral system of Patagonia. This is our challenge, emphasizes Ivelic-Sáez, "to see how alfalfa is introduced into livestock systems where low temperatures can fall at any time of the year," says the specialist.

Field evaluations in Magellan primarily measure yield, plant and stem density, and overall plant morphology.

Here, says Ivelic-Sáez, "although the same lines that are evaluated in the Cauquenes Demonstration Unit are evaluated, others that respond to the conditions of this southern territory were added." We believe, specifies Ivelic-Sáez, "that all the alfalfa germplasms that are being studied offer a type of interest for science, regardless of whether or not they are transformed into commercial varieties or that the market is going to demand them."

The grace of alfalfa is that it has this great adaptability in all ecosystems. Here there are producers who maintain old alfalfares in their rooms and that today, thanks to this project, says the specialist, “we have been able to rescue genetic material that has undergone a process of adaptation to different regional edaphoclimatic conditions”.

This is not the first study. In the Magallanes Region, alfalfa varieties, both commercial varieties and a large number of other species, were always evaluated. "INIA has technical reports of alfalfa trials since 1977 and today the presence of INIA is very important in regards to alfalfa research," says the professional.

What is innovative about the current study is that we are going one step further with regard to genetic improvement. "If before commercial varieties were evaluated to see which one best adapted to the region, today we are evaluating germplasms that can become a variety, which could be crossed to finally create or develop an alfalfa that is better adapted to regional conditions," points out the professional.

Viviana Barahona, agronomist and project transference engineer, stresses that the meaning of this type of tests becomes important to the extent that the data obtained here is comparable to the test carried out in Cauquenes where plant physiology is mainly measured , stress physiology, stomatal closure, plant density, among other different factors.

In addition, she stressed, "we not only see alfalfa as a supplementary forage resource for critical times, but also as a soil<2FEMININE>ver, since it captures nitrogen from the air and incorporates it into the soil."

Alfalfa, in addition to representing an alternative food for animal consumption, affirms Viviana Barahona, has a positive environmental impact on the soil, being a soil improver through nitrogen fixation. Although alfalfa is not the solution, she pointed out, "this type of evaluation seeks to increase efficiency in grass production, prolong the production curve and contribute to improving the physical and chemical quality of the soil."