Breeding alfalfa for semiarid regions in the Northern Great Plains: History and additional genetic evaluations of novel germplasm

Authors: BOE, ARVID - South Dakota State University; KEPHART, KEVIN - South Dakota State University; BERDAHL, JOHN - South Dakota State University; Peel, Michael; BRUMMER, E - University Of California, Davis; XU, LAN - South Dakota State University; WU, YAJUN - South Dakota State University

Submitted to: Agronomy Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/26/2020
Publication Date: 10/30/2020
Citation: Boe, A., Kephart, K.D., Berdahl, J.D., Peel, M., Brummer, E.C., Xu, L., Wu, Y. 2020. Breeding alfalfa for semiarid regions in the Northern Great Plains: History and additional genetic evaluations of novel germplasm. Agronomy Journal. 10(11). Article 1686. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10111686.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10111686

Interpretive Summary: Yellow flowered alfalfa typically referred to as "falcata" has been used extensively for development of dual grazing and hay production alfalfa's for the semi-arid regions of Canada and the USA. Most, if not all, of the falcata type cultivars developed during the 20th century had parentage tracing back to introductions by Niels Ebbesen (N.E.) Hansen that were obtained from expeditions to Russia and Siberia on behalf of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) during the early 1900s. Falcata alfalfa is known to have high levels of drought tolerance, winter hardiness, and grazing tolerance, but is generally deficient for commercial seed production traits, such as non-shatter, compared with common purple flowered alfalfa. A naturalized population tracing to USDA plant introductions to Perkins County South Dakota by N.E. Hansen in early 1900 and subsequently facilitated by the determined seed increase and inter-seeding of a population by a local rancher, Norman "Bud" Smith has shown highly desirable characteristics for improving rangelands in the northern Great Plains. This includes adequate seed production to build a seed bank in the soil for new seedling growth and plan population maintenance/expansion, and support the production of a commercial seed source. This paper documents the seminal events in the development of falcata alfalfa cultivars to date and describes novel germplasm with potential for new cultivars in the future.

Technical Abstract: Yellow-flowered alfalfa (Medicago sativa subsp. falcata) (also known as sickle medic) has been the cornerstone for breeding alfalfa for dual grazing and hay production in the semiarid regions of the northern Great Plains in the US and Canada. Most, if not all, of the cultivars developed during the 20th century had parentage tracing back to introductions by Niels Ebbesen Hansen that were obtained from expeditions to Russia and Siberia on behalf of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) during the early 1900s. The M falcata genome contains alleles for high levels of drought tolerance, winter hardiness, and tolerance to grazing, but is generally deficient for commercial seed production traits, such as non-shatter, compared with common alfalfa (M. sativa subsp. sativa). A naturalized population tracing to USDA plant introductions to Perkins County South Dakota by N. E. Hansen in early 1900 and subsequently facilitated by the determined seed increase and inter-seeding of a population by a local rancher, Norman 'Bud' Smith, has shown highly desirable in situ characteristics for improving rangelands in the northern Great Plains. This includes adequate seed production to build a seed bank in the in the soil for natural seedling recruitment and population maintenance/expansion and support the production of a commercial seed source. This paper documents the seminal events in the development of cultivars to compared with common alfalfa and describes novel germplasm with potential for new cultivars in the future.