Forage Yield and Quality Differences of Autumn and Spring-Sown Forage Pea Genotypes under Central Anatolia Conditions

In this study, some common forage pea cultivars (Golyazi, Ozkaynak, Taskent, Tore, and Urunlu) and a population of Ardahan were investigated during 2015 and 2016 years in Eskisehir condition to determine the forage yield and quality parameters. The fresh forage yield of autumn-sown forage pea (24.36 t ha) was higher than the spring-sown plants (13.42 t ha). Golyazi and Urunlu cultivars had lower fresh forage yields (14.63 and 14.81 t ha respectively) than the other genotypes and Ozkaynak, Taskent, Tore (cvs.), and Ardahan (pop.) were statistically ranked in the same group (between 19.92 and 22.52 t ha). The genotypes produced more dry matter in autumn than spring. The crude protein was higher at autumn sowing (21.17%) than the spring sowing (18.36%) and Ozkaynak had the highest value (21.53%) while Ardahan population was the lowest (17.76%). NDF content was higher in the spring season (37.62%) but only the difference between Taskent (37.60%) and Golyazi (34.06%) was significant among the genotypes. Variation in the ADF content was only significant among the genotypes and the difference between Taskent (33.41%) and Golyazi (31.62%) was significant only as similar to NDF. As a result, Ozkaynak, Taskent, Tore cultivars produce more yield with a satisfying quality by sowing in autumn at Eskisehir conditions, and the population of Ardahan has a high potential to develop new cultivars suitable for the region.