Local Forage Ecotypes and Their Importance in Turkey

Although not convenient for the modern agriculture, local ecotypes are of importance for being breeding materials since their genetic variations are diverse. Turkey is a rich country in the number of forage ecotypes. Cultivation history of especially alfalfa, common vetch, sainfoin, forage pea, chickling vetch and bitter vetch dates back to very ancient times. However, these genotypes are facing to extinct today and their importance has begun to be realized in the respect of sustainable and organic crop yielding as well as due to the increased global warming and water shortage threats. This paper was prepared to summarize some information about local forage ecotypes in Turkey and to mention about their importance