Genetic and phenotypic correlations among studied traits of different alfalfa cultivars

Abstract

In this paper are studied 15 cultivars of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) of different geographical origins. In the studied alfalfa cultivars were tested for correlations of some important traits in 2007. year. Morphological traits were studied: height of plants (cm), number of stems, number of internodes per stem, green mass yield per cutting and the total yield of green mass (g). In the first cut were recorded medium strong positive correlation between the height and yield of green mass (r = 0.76 *). Heritability properties of plant height was very high in the first year (2006, h = 80.52) in the first cut, while in the second year of investigation (2007, h = 56.96), in the second cut. Estimation of heritability properties for green mass yield varied according to age, the highest value was obtained in the first cut 2006. year (h = 72.75), indicating a high share of genotype, while the lowest value was obtained also in the first cut in the 2007. year (h = 29.55). Breeding material possesses desirable traits for breeding new cultivars and with the choice of an appropriate model of breeding possible selection activities cultivars for specific purposes.