Evaluation of Introduced and Naturalised Populations of Red Clover(Trifolium pratense L.) at Pergamino EEA-INTA,Argentina

Red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) is a temperate forage species that is extensively used in Argentina, but little effort in breeding has been made so far. Meanwhile, red clover breeding is strong in Europe and North America. In order to contribute to the utilisation of red clover genetic resources, 39 accessions of different origins were evaluated at Pergamino Inta Experimental Station. A broad phenotypic variation was detected for many of the 14 attributes considered. Variables that discriminate populations are related to seed production and winter yield. Two different groups clustered according to morphologic and productive mean attributes, and these groups were related to geographic origin of accessions.