Abstract:In order to identify the mechanism of nitrogen metabolism in different alfalfa cultivars (LW6010 and Longdong),nutrition sand culture experiment was used to study the changes of nitrogen metabolism and nitrogen metabolism enzymes activity under two nitrogen levels at three growth periods.In addition,the relationship between nitrogen metabolism and nitrogen metabolism enzyme activity was also examined.The results showed that dry matter,nitrogen content,nitrogen accumulation,NR and GS activities of alfalfa under N210 were higher than those under N21.Dry matter,NR and GS activity of LW6010 were significantly higher than those of Longdong;however,nitrogen content of LW6010 was significantly lower than that of Longdong.NR activities of LW6010 under N210 and N21 were increased by 24% and 15% (seedling stage),31% and 40% (budding stage),20% and 11% (flowering stage) compared with Longdong.Similarly,GS activities of LW6010 under N210 and N21 were increased by 30% and 29% (seedling stage),33% and 20% (budding stage),7% and 14% (flowering stage) compared with Longdong.Nitrogen accumulation of LW6010 was significantly higher than that with Longdong at seedling stage and flowering stage.Nitrogen accumulation of LW6010 under N210 was increased by 25%,3% and 16% at three growth stages.Nitrogen accumulation of LW6010 under N21 was increased by 45% and 12% at seedling stage and flowering stage.At the same time,there was a significant positive correlation between dry weight,nitrogen accumulation,NR activity and GS activity of alfalfa.In general,different alfalfa cultivars have different nitrogen metabolism capacity under different nitrogen levels.LW6010 has higher nitrogen metabolism capacity than Longdong.NR and GS activities can be used as evaluation parameters to evaluate differences in nitrogen metabolism of alfalfa,which can provide a reference for further breeding of alfalfa cultivars with high nitrogen metabolism.