Abstract:

A common vetch （Vicia sativa） breeding program was started in 1999 using germplasm materials introduced from the International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas （ICARDA）. The objective was to develop cultivars adapted to the alpine grassland conditions to improve the degree to which nutritional requirements of livestock production at Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau could be met. After 12 years of continuous effort， a new cultivar named Lanjian No.3 was developed through a combination of single plant selection and bulk selection. The most prominent characteristics of the new cultivar are early maturity and higher seed yield. The mean number of days required from seedling emergence to seed maturation was only 100 days with a range of 92 to 106 days， and the mean seed yield was 2023 kg·ha^-1， when it was grown in Xiahe county of Gansu province， China， a typical alpine grassland where the elevation is 3000 meters above sea level. Compared with a reference cultivar 333/A， the mean growing days to maturity was 13 days shorter and seed yield was 174.9% higher. The mean herbage dry matter yield of Lanjian No.3 is 2769 kg·ha^-1， which is similar to the reference cultivar. Its herbage dry matter yield was 3214 kg·ha^-1 （14.3% higher than 333/A） when grown in summer as a cover crop on the Loess Plateau. Therefore， it is concluded that Lanjian No. 3 is a productive new cultivar for the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. It also could be used as a short-term rotation crop or green manure crop in traditional crop production regions.

Key words: forage legume, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, Vicia sativa, Lanjian No. 3