Progress of alfalfa breeding in China

Alfalfa(Medicago sativa), one of the legume forages with the largest planting area in China, is regarded as “the king of forages”. Since the 1950s, a series of researches have been carried out in alfalfa breeding, and a lot of new varieties with strong resistance have been launched, which lay the foundation for the rapid development of alfalfa industry. In this paper, advances in alfalfa breeding in China were reviewed, including the current situation, some excellent varieties and breeding methods. Further, the existing problems and shortcomings were discussed, and the future trend and goals of alfalfa breeding such as germplasm resources innovation and new varieties which have excellent agronomic traits with high-technology methods were provided.