Evaluation - characterization and screening of Lotus corniculatus L. accessions in spaced and dense stand conditions

Inglés. In forage plants single plant evaluation is often reported to be of scarce interest in predicting sward performances. With the aim to assessing the reliability of spaced plant evaluation in screening birdsfoot trefoil germplasm for breeding purposes a spaced plant trial and a dense stand trial were set up. Nine natural populations were studied in both trials. The following agronomic, physiological and qualitative characters were recorded in 1993: winter growth, spring regrowth, first bloom date, average stem lenght, total dry matter yield, crude protein, crude fiber, ash, in vitro dry matter digestibility, milk feeding units and meat feeding units. Polcanto, Macerata and Canetra were found to be the most promising natural populations. The sets of data collected for each character and for each population in the spaced plant trial and in the dense stand trial showed a substantial agreement. When screening birdsfoot trefoil accessions coming from sites with different ecological conditions, evaluation conducted as spaced plants appears to be reliable in predicting sward performances

Italiano. Nove popolazioni naturali di ginestrino sono state studiate a piante spaziate e a semina fitta per i seguenti caratteri agronomici, fisiologici e qualitativi: attivita' vegetativa invernale e primaverile, epoca di fioritura, lunghezza media degli steli, produzione totale di sostanza secca, proteina grezza, fibra, ceneri, digeribilita' in vivo, unita' foraggere latte e carne fornite. Polcanto, Macerata e Canetra sono risultate le popolazioni migliori. La serie di dati raccolti per ciascun carattere in ciascuna prova sono risultati in sostanziale accordo. Cio' mostra la possibilita' di scegliere le popolazioni piu' interessanti su cui proseguire il lavoro di miglioramento in una fase precoce della valutazione del germoplasma, che viene condotta normalmente a piante spaziate