Adaptability of 5 alfalfa cultivars in the hill regions of central Sichuan

In order to screen alfalfa varieties suitable for hilly area of central Sichuan, the production performance of 5 alfalfa cultivars in Hesha Town and Tianbao Town of Suining City were studied. The results showed that the plant height and growth rate of ‘WL-525HQ’ were significantly higher than those of other varieties (P < 0.05) in both test sites. Comparing with other varieties, ‘Xibuzhixing’ had significantly higher (P < 0.05) yield with 5 458 and 4 138 kg·ha^–1 in Hesha Town and Tianbao Town, respectively. The crude protein content (21.93%, 22.47%) and water soluble carbohydrate content (5.60%, 5.60%) of ‘WL-525HQ’ in both Hesha town and Tianbao town were significantly higher than other varieties (P < 0.05). Moreover, the acid detergent fiber content of ‘WL-525HQ’ in the two test sites (31.95%, 31.15%) were significantly lower than those of other varieties (P < 0.05). The neutral detergent fiber content of ‘WL-440HQ’ in Hesha Town and Tianbao Town were 39.27% and 39.89%, significantly lower than those of other varieties (P < 0.05). According to the comprehensive analysis of membership functions, ‘WL-525HQ’ had the highest membership degree in both test sites, which was 0.8 and 0.9 respectively. Thus, the performance of ‘WL-525HQ’ is better, which could be popularized and have better application value in this area.