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Abstracts
Proceedings
HARDSEEDEDNESS IN Medicago aculeata
L. Grass1, M. Bounejmate1 and F.A. Feniche2
1ICARDA PO Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria
2Ministère de l'Agriculture, du Développement Rural et des Pèches Maritimes,
Rabat, Maroc
Hardseededness is a major factor in the successful regeneration and survival of medics. Hardseededness of M. aculeata was assessed on accessions collected from high altitude areas in Morocco. In the first experiment, seeds from eight accessions were germinated 1) in pods, 2) after removing them by hand, and 3) after threshing pods by rubber. The second experiment assessed hardseededness and seed. softening of 238 accessions in the field. The level of hardseededness in M. aculeata at maturity was lower than in most common commercial cultivars, ranging from 62 to 97%. Also, hard seeds showed a significant decrease (37%) from July to September. It is unlikely that M. aculeata could be used in rotation with cereals, but rather to establish temporary pastures. However, the genetic variability that exists among accessions of M. aculeata emphasizes the potential for screening for different levels of hardseededness and seed softening. The mean hardseededness levels varied for pods threshed by rubber (73%), pods threshed by hand (88%) and unthreshed pods were (89%). There were no significant differences between seeds germinated in pods and those removed by hand, suggesting the possibility of using pods instead of seed to establish medic pasture.
Keywords: Medicago aculeata; hardseededness; seed softening; pods; threshing.