YIEDS OF ALFALFA VARIETIES WITH DIFFERENT FALL DORMANCY LEVELS IN NORTHEAST CHINA

摘要

Fall dormancy (FD) is an important indicator of winter hardiness in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), the relationshipbetween FD and the yield potential of alfalfa varieties were investigated to survey annual dry matter (DM) yields with FDlevels in the northeast regions with cold winters. During three consecutive years, all varieties of five FD levels survived overthe winter without any persistency problems and there were no differences in annual DM yields of varieties among FDlevels. Among the same FD varieties, DM yields for some of the dormant, semi-dormant and non-dormant varieties werefound no correlated with FD levels. In conclusion, it suggests that different FD levels no effected on yields of alfalfa in thecold regions, such as North-east China.