| Abstract: | Birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.) is a highly variable and widely distributed Old World perennial forage legume found in wild and naturalized populations
throughout temperate regions of Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa, North and South America, Australia, and New Zealand. Understanding
the relationships among birdsfoot trefoil morphological, ecogeographic and chemical characteristics may provide insights for
better utilizing of exotic germplasms. Ten birdsfoot trefoil populations were and sampled and determined in Serbia and Bosnia
and Herzegovina. Some morphological properties, such as growth form of populations, flower color, flowering period, number
of stems, length of main stem, number of racemes per stem, number of flowers per inflorescence, number of pods per racemes,
number of seeds per pods, hard seeds in the first year, dry matter (DM) yield, and some chemical properties, such as content
of crude protein, ash, fat, crude fiber, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, potassium, K/(Ca+Mg) ratio, and sulfur, manganese,
iron, copper, zinc, selenium and tannin contents, were determined in all populations. Serbia is an important origin center
of genes for many legume species. Considering the high values of their traits, some Serbian trefoil populations could serve
as a valuable breeding material. In comparison with populations from other parts of the world, Serbian populations are superior
in chemical properties and nutritional quality values. The investigated populations clustered in two distinct groups according
to the analyzed characteristics. |
