Comparison and ploidy test of 11 resources of wild Medicago falcata from Xinjiang

Eleven wild Medicago falcata from Xinjiang were compared to determine their morphological characteristics and chromosome ploidy in a homogeneous garden to provide a reference for evaluating Xinjiang M. falcata L. resources and construction of core germplasm. The morphology was evaluated. As a reference material, M. sativa ‘Xinjiang Daye’ was used for the ploidy test on a CyFlow Space flow cytometer, and the materials were treated using a Sysmex Partec GmbH Arndtstraβe 11 a-b kit. The coefficient of variation among the traits of M. falcata ranged from 7.62%～19.98% and the coefficient of variation among materials ranged from 9.66%～17.22%, with an average coefficient of variation of 13.56%. In cluster analysis, the 11 materials were divided into five categories at a Euclidean distance of 10, among which YM, MNS-2, and YW-1 each formed one category. The YM was a diploid material with the smallest leaf area and was used for cross-breeding and constructing a core germplasm bank of wild yellow clover in Xinjiang. The MNS-2 was a tetraploid material with the largest absolute plant height. The YW-1 was a composite material with the largest stem thickness and the largest number of inflorescences. The remaining materials were tetraploids, among which AGXWB and MNS-1 were grouped and characterized by longer internodes, more stem nodes, and larger leaf areas. The materials BLK, YL, YW-2, FY, JMN, and ALT were clustered into one group.