The study of morphological variation in populations of Stipa barbata var. arabica and Stipa hohenackeriana of Esfahan

In order to study forage yield, seed yield and its components in two species of Stipa, 16 genotypes of S. barbata and 10 genotypes of S. hohenackeriana were collected from natural habitats in Esfahan province and evaluated with a completely randomized design with three replications in farm condition. Based on the results, there was a significant difference between two species for most of the important traits such as forage yield and seed yield. Rahmat Abad Khansar population of S.hohenackeriana and Polkale population of S. barbata showed higher forage yield (3333 and 3129 kg/ha, respectively). The first five components determined 73% of total variation. The first component named as yield factor, the second and the third factors as vegetative factors, the forth component as yield component factor and the fifth factor as dry weight/wet weight. Cluster analysis classified populations into two groups with distinct variations for seed yield and forage yield.