Determination of vegetative characteristics of some cultivated alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) varieties

This thesis was conducted to determine the vegetative and agr00 situation has made it essential to cultivate forage crops under field conditions to meet the demand for high-quality roughage in livestock production. In this context, determining high-yielding, high-quality genotypes that are resistant to diseases and pests, and tolerant to drought and cold stress, is of great importance. Alfalfa, known as the "queen of forage crops," is characterized by its wide adaptability, high protein and carotene contents, low fiber level, and suitability for silage and pellet production. Turkey, with nearly fifty alfalfa species, is considered one of the important gene centers for this genus. However, many of the cultivated varieties are of foreign origin and not fully adapted to local ecological conditions. Therefore, determining the morphological and agronomic characteristics of alfalfa genotypes grown in different ecological regions of the country will significantly contribute to the development of locally adapted varieties. Within the scope of this study, 20 different alfalfa varieties previously sown in the field were evaluated for their vegetative and agricultural traits. The observations and measurements included both qualitative characteristics—such as the first flowering and pod-setting dates, growth habit, pubescence, and anthocyanin pigmentation—and quantitative traits, including plant height, main stem thickness, inflorescence length, number of flowers and pods per raceme, single pod weight, seed yield per plant, and thousand-seed weight. The collected data were statistically analyzed to reveal the differences among the varieties. The aim of this research is to identify varieties that exhibit high adaptation to regional conditions and possess superior feed yield and quality. This will result in the identification of high-yielding alfalfa varieties suitable for the conditions of our country.