Path analysis of the characters influencing forage yield in 36 Iranian and foreign populations of Festuca arundinacea species

Festuca arundinacea have tolerant to various climatic conditions. It could have good roles in forage production for livestock feeding and soil conservation. To investigate the relationship between morphological traits and yield، 36 accessions of Festuca arundinacea were sown based on randomized complete block design with three replications under dryland farming system conditions، during 2008 and 2009. Plant length، internodes length، flag leaf length، number of stems per m2، days to pollination as independent variables and forage yield as the dependent variable were recorded. Based on regression analysis، forage yield had significant linear relationship with the independent variables. Independent variables showed a significant positive correlation with forage yield. Days to pollination showed no significant correlation with other traits، but the other traits showed pair wise correlation significant positive correlation. Path analysis results showed that the trait of plant height had the greatest direct effect (0. 468) and indirect positive effect by stems per m2 and flag leaf length on forage yield. Days to pollination had high direct effect (0. 251) on the forage yield. In addition، selection based on all traits specially plant height and days to pollination can be useful to increase forage yield.