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An Electronic Meter for Determining Ease of Tripping of Alfalfa Florets

Department of Agronomy and Range Science, Univ. of California, Davis, CA 95616

^* Corresponding author.

Numerous methods of assessing ease of tripping of alfalfa (Medicago saliva L.) florets have been reported. The objective of this research was to develop a device that would accurately measure ease of tripping. Four florets from each of 72 greenhouse-grown alfalfa plants chosen randomly from ‘CUF-101’ were tested with the electronic tripping meter on two dates. Concurrently, tripping measurements were also obtained on 68 of the same 72 plants using ethanol. Ease of tripping values measured by the ethanol and electronic tripping meter techniques were correlated (r = 0.32^*, significant at the 0.05 probability level; 66 df), but ease of tripping values were more repeatable with the electronic tripping meter than with the ethanol method. Spearman's coefficient of rank correlation between sampling times was greater for values obtained using the electronic tripping meter (r = 0.61^**, significant at the 0.01 probability level; 70 df) than for values obtained using ethanol (r = 0.18, 66 df). The electronic tripping meter was a more accurate, more repeatable, and a less time-consuming method.

Key Words: Medicago sativa L. • Lucerne • Pollination • Seed production • Proximity sensor

Received for publication May 4, 1987.