CHARACTERIZATION AND SELECTION OF ALFALFA CULTIVARS BASED ON AGRONOMIC AND QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS INFORMATION FROM CONTINENTAL CLIMATIC CONDITIONS OF TURKEY

Alfalfa is one of the most important crops mainly grown for forage and hay production in the world. Present study was aimed to investigate the green herbage and hay yield as well as some quality parameters such as acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), digestible dry matter (DDM), crude protein, dry matter contents, organic matter, crude oil and raw fiber of 9 different alfalfa cultivars. This study was conducted during two consecutive years (2015 and 2016) at two locations in Turkey (Sivas -Center and Sivas-Altinoluk). The mean values of ADF, NDF, DDM, crude protein (CP), green forage yield and dry forage yield were 43.73%, 52.69%, 50.70%,19.71%, 59163 kg ha(-1) and 13866 kg ha(-1) respectively. Dry forage yield reflected a positive and highly significant correlation with plant height, number of tillers and fresh forage yield. The varieties called Delta and Azzura performed very well for both locations during the whole period of study and also expressed a great level of winter resistance. Kayseri is a local cultivar in Turkey and it is revealed to be poor in terms of all the studied traits. According to the results of the study, it was concluded that the cultivars, Delta and Azzura, could be successfully grown in the continental climate regions of Turkey, and they could be also used in the breeding program of alfalfa to develop alfalfa varieties with high winter resistance and high yield and quality of forage.