engleski

Assessment of red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) productivity in environmental stress

The frequency of extreme climatic events has increased due to global climate change. The objectives of this research were to investigate the influence of climatic conditions (precipitation and temperature) on productivity of red clover cultivars and populations with a different genetic background and to identify those with high forage yield potential in environmental stress. Twenty-three red clover cultivars and populations of different geographical origin were studied during two consecutive growing seasons (2012 – extremely dry weather conditions, 2013 – humid weather conditions) at the Agricultural Institute Osijek, Croatia. A field experiment was performed as a randomized block design with three replicates. Green mass and dry matter yield and plant height were measured in both growing seasons, whereas the seed yield was determined in the first year only. Results indicated the stability or adaptability of evaluated red clover cultivars and populations to a dry or humid weather production conditions. Croatian populations (CD-3, TP-2, TP-7) and cultivar Viva, Serbian cultivar K-17 and German cultivar Taifun exhibited the highest forage yield potential under both, dry and humid growing conditions and represent a valuable material to be used in red clover breeding programs dealing with tolerance to abiotic stress.

red clover ; cultivar ; population ; yield ; climate change ; environmental stress

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