International Journal of Environmental Science and Development

Abstract—In order to compare variation and relations among yield and quality traits of three forage species, 9 superior varieties of sainfoin (Onobrychis sativa), proso millet (Panicum miliaceum) and foxtail millet (Setaria italica), were assessed using complete block design with three replications. Results of ANOVA showed significant differences (p<0.01) among species in all factors. Although, the highest average values of 14.37 and 8.23 ton ha-1 Dry Matter (DM) yield were obtained for the foxtail and proso millet, respectively, sainfoin was significantly premier in important traits such as crude protein, dry matter digestibility and crude fiber. Combined phenotypic correlation between DM yield with both water soluble carbohydrates and crude protein were negatively significant, whereas its relationship with crude fiber was negative. Using principal component analysis, the first four independent components with values more than 1.0 accounted for 91% of total variation. Based on ward cluster analysis, 9 varieties were divided into 3 groups. Totally, distribution of populations on the first two component scores was in agreement with cluster analysis.

Index Terms—Forage yield, quality traits, correlation, PCA and cluster analysis.

The authors are with Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (e-mail: mohajer.ae@gmail.com, rosna@um.edu.my, arash_khorasani@yahoo.com, n_mubarak1@yahoo.com).

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Cite:Sadegh Mohajer, Rosna Mat Taha, Arash Khorasani, and Elnaiem Elaagib Mubarak, "Comparative Studies of Forage Yield and Quality Traits among Proso Millet, Foxtail Millet and Sainfoin Varieties," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 4, no. 5, pp. 465-469, 2013.