Determination of Yield and Quality Characteristics of Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) Varieties Grown in Different Locations

This research was made in Konya and Polath-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 620-682 cm for plant height, 30-32 mm for stem thickness, 838-891 t ha(-1) for green herbage yield, 209-223 t ha(-1) for dry matter yield, 185-194% for crude protein content and 402-422 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.