Evaluation of yield and some characteristics of Festuca ovina populations in rainfed conditions in Mazandaran province

(Festuca ovina) is one of the most important and palatable rangeland species in the rangelands of Mazandaran province and has a wide range of distribution in mountain rangelands that, in addition to nutritional value for livestock, plays a role in the breeding and rehabilitation program of mountain rangelands. Due to the importance of this species, several populations of F. ovina species, whose seeds were collected from different rangelands of the province, were planted in plastic trays. After germination and a short period of operation, in early spring, in the area of Poshtkuh research station in the southeastern heights of Sari, they were planted on two 20-meter-long lines so that 40 bases of each accession were placed on the planting line. Their spacing on rows of 50 m and line spacing of 1 m were considered. The experiment was conducted during 2011-2015. The evaluation began in the spring of 2013. Evaluation criteria for plant selection were phenological stages, plant height at the time of cluster emergence, canopy level, forage production, and seed production. Various phenological stages, including vegetative stage, flowering, seed formation, and fall regrowth, were recorded with weekly reference from the bases that have been nailed for this purpose. The obtained data were statistically analyzed in SPSS16. The results of the combined analysis of variance of the data related to the performance of the evaluated factors showed that there is a significant difference at the level of (p≤0.01) between the six populations of the studied species. The highest amount of canopy cover, plant height, viability, seed production, and forage production is related to the population of Siahsang rangeland, and the lowest values of the mentioned factors are related to the populations of Kangeloo and Doona rangelands. Therefore, to produce and strengthen forage vegetation, the seeds of this population can be used in the mountain rangelands of the central regions of Mazandaran province.