Assessment of preferred better accessions of Festuca sulcata L. for improvement and developmend alpine ranglands of Ardabil province

     Festuca sulcata L. as a perennial grass is special to semi- steppe rangelands in alpine regions. In order to evaluate the growth quality, forage and seed yields, five extensions of this species were planted under rainfed conditions in a completely randomized block design with three replications at Samian station in Ardebil. After establishment of the seedlings, traits, such as viability percentage, crown cover, shrub height, seedling vigor, and forage and seed yields were measured from 2010 to 2014, at the end of the growing season. The data were analyzed using SAS software and comparison of the means of the evaluated traits was performed by Duncan's multiple range tests at P ≤ 0.05. The results showed that the greatest percentages of crown cover (997.77 cm2), shrub height (45.88 cm) and seed viability (100%) were belonged to Sarein-Alvaris accession. Average values of forage and seed yields were 528.58 and 93.33 kg ha-1 y-1, respectively. There was no significant difference between accessions in term of seed yield but there was a significant difference (P ≤ 0.01) between years. The average seed production in the studied ecotypes was 95.33 kg ha-1. Consequently, superior accessions of this species with great potential for foliage production can be used in the process of restoration and development of semi- steppe rangelands in alpine region.