Yellowhead alfalfa

Abstract

Yellowhead is a cultivar of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. Subsp. falcata). Yellowhead was selected at the Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Swift Current, SK, and developed through the collaboration of Research Centres of AAFC in Saskatchewan. Yellowhead is a “falcata type”, i.e., yellow flowered with sickle shaped seed pods, with about 60% of the plants displaying the rhizomatous characteristic. Yellowhead is moderately resistant to bacterial wilt and particularly tolerant of competition in mixed swards with grass and under heavy grazing. The herbage yield of Yellowhead was not significantly different from that of the parent population, ScMf 3713 and check cultivars in trials conducted on dryland near Swift Current, Saskatchewan.Key words: Cultivar description, winter hardiness, persistence, grazing tolerance