engleski

Green mass and seed yield potential of alfalfa breeding populations

Alfalfa is the most important forage leguminous in the production of voluminous fodder. It is not primarily produced for the seeds, but for the recognition and commercial viability of the cultivars on the market, in addition to the green mass yield, the seed yield is also important. Creating a cultivar of superior yield and forage quality with satisfactory seed production is one of the biggest challenges for alfalfa breeders and seed producers. The objective of the work was a during a five-year research (2014- 2018) to determine the yields of green mass and seed of 19 newly developed alfalfa populations (ABP 1-19) of the Agricultural Institute Osijek and to choose superior materials for our breeding work and/ or application of a potential future cultivar. Statistically significant differences were found between the studied ABPs in the average three-year (2014-2016) yield of green mass, which ranged from 68.41 t/ha (ABP 6) to 78.05 t/ha (ABP 19) and the average two-year ( 2017-2018) seed yield that varied from 150.78 kg/ha (ABP 9) to 335.35 kg/ha (ABP 7). The highest average annual yield of green mass (90.24 t/ha) was achieved in 2015, and the seed yield (394.17 kg/ha) in 2017. Several alfalfa populations (ABP 19, 8, 14) superior in both analysed traits were identified for the application of a potential future cultivar. Also were identified populations with high yield of green mass (ABP 12, 18) and seed yield (ABP 7, 4) which represent valuable genetic material for our further breeding work.

green mass yield, seed yield, populations, alfalfa, breeding

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