Genetic Diversity of Iranian and Exotic Sainfoin Accessions (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop) Based on Morphological Traits

Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.) is widely grown as forage and pasture legume in Iran and is tolerant to environmental stresses. To investigate the genetic diversity among 56 accessions of sainfoin germplasm (including 46 Iranian and 10 foreign) based on morphological and agronomic characteristics, present experiment was conducted as randomized complete block design with three replications in Isfahan University of Technology Research Farm during 2010-2011. The results of analysis of variance indicated considerable variation between studied germplasm for all traits and the better performance for Iranian accessions. The estimation of broad sense heritability for plant height, number of stems per plant, number of stems per meter square and number of nods per stem was high suggesting contribution of the major genes for controlling these traits. On the basis of means comparison, the forage yield was greatest for the first cutting as compared to the second cutting. Also the highest yield obtained from second year. Regarding the palatability (based on leaf to stem ratio) the exotic accessions had higher values. Developing of superior cultivars may be possible through combining high yield and palatability in breeding programs.