Determination and comparison of agronomic and morphological features of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) cultivated under antalya coastal conditions

This research was carried out with the objective to analyze agronomic and morphological features of 8 alfalfa varieties cultivated under Antalya coastal conditions at the trial fields of Department of Field Crops, Faculty of Agriculture, Akdeniz University. Alfalfa varieties provided by Batı Akdeniz Agricultural Research Institute (BATEM) were used as materials in this research. These varieties include Özpınar, Alsancak, Nimet, La Bella Campagnola, Gigante Romea, Elçi, Prosementi and Sunter. The research was conducted in randomized block design with 3 replications. Agronomic and morphologic features of varieties were analyzed and compared. The first harvest was carried out during seedling stage. At the same time, necessary measurements were carried out by taking plant samples at the 10% bloom stage. Second and third harvests were performed by taking 10% bloom into consideration. Thereby, 3 harvests in total were conducted throughout the year. Harvests were made and samples were taken between December 2016 and November 2017, three times being at 10% bloom stage and one time being at seedling stage. Statistical analysis and evaluations were carried out on the data obtained from the samples. Consequently, Nimet, Alsancak and Elçi varieties in terms of 1st year fresh yield; Alsancak in terms of plant height; Nimet, Alsancak and Elçi in terms of dry matter yield; Nimet, Alsancak, Özpınar and Gigante Romea varieties in terms of dry matter ratio have come into prominence. When number of pods per plant, number of seeds per plant, straw yield and seed yield are compared, there were no differences detected between the 8 varieties. Gigante Romea with 1000-grain weight and Sunter with crude protein ratio gave the highest values. Considering the 1st year data for Antalya coastal region, especially Nimet and Alsancak varieties are recommended to be used for quality roughage production. However, the research should be backed up by other years' data. For this reason, this is an ongoing research.