Evaluation of some cultivars and ecotypes of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) for agronomic, morphological and qualitative traits

This study was performed to evaluate and compare quantitative and qualitative forage yield of Iranian and foreign alfalfa cultivars and ecotypes as well as correlation between traits and genetic variation among them. Therefore, 12 cultivars and ecotypes of alfalfa were evaluated in a randomized complete block design with three replications at research field of Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran for two years 2016-2017. The results showed significant differences for forage yield, agronomic traits and forage quality. Significant interactions of year × ecotype was observed for fresh forage yield and total dry forage yields and also plant height. Among the studied ecotypes, the ecotypes Mohajeran, Malekkandi and Ghahavand indicted the highest fresh and dry forage yield. The results of simple correlation showed that the highest positive and significant correlation between fresh and dry forage yield (0.98). Principal component analysis showed that 74% of the total variance was justified by the first two components. Results of cluster analysis divided the studied genotypes into three groups. In the first group, the ecotypes of Ghahavand, Mohajeran and Malekandi were considered to be the best in terms of forage yield, while in the second group they were Chaleshtar, Legend and Sequel were best for forage quality. In the third group, the other cultivars were classified as having average forage yield and quality