Maragheh, A New Dryland Forage Vetch Cultivar for Cold and Moderate Cold Areas of Iran

Drylands cover about 6.2 million hectares of arable lands across Iran, but annual feed legumes are not present in rainfed crop rotations. Introduction of new forage cultivars with high productivity and nutritive values is a key solution in drylands development. Vd-2446 a vetch (Vicia dasycarpa) line with origin of Italy has been selected from vetch nurseries provided by ICARDA during 1995 and was evaluated along with other selected lines and local checks over 9 years in different research stations and on-farm conditions. Vd-2446 with mean 2240 kgha-1 dry biomass over environments, high stability and higher protein content compared to other lines and local check was Selected as a suitable cultivar for cultivation as a spring crop in cold areas and as a winter crop in moderate cold drylands of Iran. It was officially registered by Agricultural Research, Eduction and Extension Organization in 2009 and named Maragheh.