Within‐ and Among‐Cultivar Genetic Variation in Alfalfa: Forage Quality, Morphology, and Yield

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) cultivars are synthetic populations formed from 8 to 200 parents and thus have a broad genetic base. Within‐cultivar variation was compared with among‐cultivar variation for energy value traits, morphological traits, and dry matter yield. Eleven cultivars, each represent...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Crop science 2000-03, Vol.40 (2), p.365-369
Main Authors: Julier, Bernadette, Huyghe, Christian, Ecalle, Christian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural industry
Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions
Alfalfa
Biological and medical sciences
Biotechnology industry
Cultivars
Dry matter
Flowers & plants
Forage
Forage plants
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genetic aspects
Genetic diversity
Genetics
Genetics and breeding of economic plants
Life Sciences
Medicago sativa
Plant breeding
Plant genetics
Plant population genetics
Quality management
Varietal selection. Specialized plant breeding, plant breeding aims
Yield, quality, earliness, varia
Yield-line analysis
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Summary:Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) cultivars are synthetic populations formed from 8 to 200 parents and thus have a broad genetic base. Within‐cultivar variation was compared with among‐cultivar variation for energy value traits, morphological traits, and dry matter yield. Eleven cultivars, each represented by 15 clones of 7 to 20 genotypes, were evaluated in field plots simulating a dense canopy at INRA (National Institute of Agronomic Research), Lusignan in France. Six harvests spanning 3 yr were analyzed. Neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), enzymatic digestibility, leaf‐to‐stem ratio (LSR), number of stems, stem height, and dry matter yield were measured. Within‐cultivar variance accounted for 31 to 70% of the genetic variance for LSR and quality traits and 57 to 100% for morphological traits and dry matter yield. Large within‐cultivar variation for yield‐related traits could impart yield stability across environments, as a result of competition in alfalfa canopies. Phenotypic and genetic correlations were relatively low in each harvest for dry matter yield and NDF content, but high for NDF content and LSR. Within‐cultivar variation could be exploited as an additional source of genetic variation in breeding programs for quality traits to achieve a higher genetic gain per breeding cycle.
ISSN:0011-183X
1435-0653
DOI:10.2135/cropsci2000.402365x