Variability of dry matter yield and quality of lucerne genotypes depending on geographic origin

Abstract

Dry matter yield and quality are the two main and increasing goals of lucerne breeding. Genotype variability is almost as important in lucerne selection as the breeding methods used in the process. In 2002, a trial with 15 cultivars was established to study the variability of yield and quality in lucerne genotypes of different geographic origin. Two of the cultivars are from Serbia, five from Greece, five from Bolivia, one from Ukraine and three from Estonia. They are biologically divergent (12 of the cultivars are Medicago saliva ssp. saliva and three Medicago saliva ssp. varia. Forage and dry matter yields ranged from 33.6 t ha(-1) to 78.4 t ha(-1) and from 8.0 t ha(-1) to 20.4 t ha(-1) respectively. Regrowth after cutting and plant height ranged between 15.1 and 34.7 cm and 36.4 and 71.2 cm, respectively. Leaf contribution to yield varied significantly among the M saliva genotypes and did not depend on geographic origin. The largest contribution of leaves and hence best quality were found in the cultivars Pella and Bolivia 2000.