Ex situ evaluation of forage yield components and forage yields in wild populations of French vetch (Vicia serratifolia Jacq.) from Serbia

摘要

Vetches present a good potential for becoming forage crops, and the aim of this study was to evaluate forage yield components and forage yields in the wild populations of French vetch (Vicia serratifolia Jacq.) in Serbia. A small-plot trial was carried out in 2010 and 2011 at the Experimental Field of the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops at Rimski Sancevi, including twelve wild populations of French vetch collected at diverse locations at the mountain Fruska Gora in Serbia. The population VS 05had the highest two-year average forage yields, namely 41.61 ha~(-1) of green forage (9.6 t ha~(-1) of forage dry matter), while the population VS 04 had the lowest two-year average forage yields, namely 9.0 t ha'1 of green forage (2.11 ha~(-1) of forage dry matter). Some of the populations tested produced yields similar to those of faba bean (V.faba L.) and higher than Narbonne vetch (V. narbonensis L.) in the same agroecological conditions. They confirm their considerable potential for forage production in temperate regions such as the northern Balkans.