The breeding and agronomy of forage grasses and legumes (with special reference to Lebanon).

A wide range of accessions of perennial ryegrass and lucerne collected from the Lebanese temperate and semicontinental regions were evaluated in a breeding nursery at the first stage of a breeding project aimed at raising forage production and controlling erosion and desertification in the marginal lands of the Middle East. Plant characters which contribute to agronomic value showed significant differences between accessions in both ryegrass and lucerne. Accessions with the most favourable combination of agronomic characters were selected in both ryegrass and lucerne. In ryegrass, it appears possible to aim for a variety with good ground cover, leafy with large leaves, persistent, relatively summer dormancy tolerant, late flowering and high dry matter yield. A larger number of leaves is often associated with smaller ones, more erect growth, early onset of summer dormancy, low persistency, and early flowering. In lucerne, it appears possible to develop a variety with rapid establishment, many branches, leafy, relatively tall, erect, and longer internodes, resulting in high yield of dry matter and seed. Although significant differences were found between accessions for most of the characters mentioned, few characters in ryegrass only showed any regular correlation with the ecological subregion from which they were collected, and in lucerne no such associations were detected, yet relations with annual rainfall were found in ryegrass, but only with flowering date in lucerne. It is concluded that a dual-purpose variety of ryegrass and lucerne mainly intended for grazing will be most appropriate, and that the seasonal dry matter yield distribution of ryegrass and lucerne would usefully supplement each other. Satisfactory seed production was obtained from many lucerne accessions.