Study of yield, morphological and quality traits of 19 ecotypes of Agropyron cristatum grown under optimum and dry conditions of Khojir, Tehran

In order to determine the best genotype for range improvement in Tehran province, Iran, 19 ecotypes of Agropyron cristatum were sown using randomized complete block design with three replications under irrigation and dry land farming system during 2006- 2007. Data were collected and analyzed for dry matter (DM) yield, flowering and pollinating date, plant height and 5 quality traits as: dry matter digestibility (DMD), water soluble carbohydrates (WSC), crude protean (CP), total ash, and acid detergent fiber (ADF). The results showed significant difference at 1% level of confidence for yield and morphological traits while no significant differences were observed for forage quality under two different cultivation conditions. The difference between ecotypes and environment-ecotype interaction effecets were significant for all traits of the species. Ecotypes 208P8 and 4056P4 with average values of 1240 and 1336 Kg/ha had higher forage yield in irrigation condition while in dry land condition, forage yield of ecotypes 619M and 4056P4 with average values of 791 and 901 Kg/ha were maximum. According to the results, ecotypes 1722M (Gorgan), 208P8 (Esfahan) and 4056P4 (Gorgan) with average yield value were identified as the best ones for both yield and quality traits in studied cultivation conditions to be introduced for cultivation in dry land faming in Tehran province. DM yield had positive correlation with plant establishment. WSC had positive and negative correlation with DMD and CP, respectively. The relationship between DMD and ADF was negatively significant.