Determination of yield and quality characteristics of alfalfa (medicago sativa L.) Varieties grown in different locations

This research was made in Konya and Polatli-Ankara ecological conditions during the years of 2006 and 2007 according to Randomized Blocks Design with three replications. The used alfalfa species were: Verko, Sunter, Hemedan, Elci and Planet varieties and Kayseri population. In the study, the fallowing characteristics were determined: plant height (cm), stem thickness (mm), green herbage yield (t ha-1), dry matter yield (t ha-1), crude protein content (%) and crude protein yield (t ha-1). As the means of 2 years and two locations, the genotypes showed the fallowing values: 62.0-68.2 cm for plant height, 3.0-3.2 mm for stem thickness, 83.8-89.1 tha-1 for green herbage yield, 20.9-22.31 ha-1 for dry matter yield, 18.5-19.4% for crude protein content and 4.02-4.22 t ha-1 for crude protein yield. The main goal of alfalfa farming is production of high quality and abundant roughage. Kayseri population showed the highest dry matter yield (22.29 kg/da/year) and it was followed by the Verko (22.25 kg/da/year) variety. The Verko variety had higher yield than Elci and partially more than Hemedan variety. © Medwell Journals, 2013.