In central Turkey, common vetch (Vicia sativa ssp. sativa) is traditionally grown in spring. Frequent droughts cause crop failures. Autumn sowing can give higher yields, but then winter plant death is a major problem. The objective of this research was to explore and quantify variation available in V. sativa ssp. germplasm for winter hardiness, yield and adaptability. Eleven plant characters were evaluated in 164 vetch populations in autumn and spring sowings over two years, and their inter-relationships were analyzed. Mean winter death was 27% and was greater in the second, colder year, though the magnitude of the coefficient-of-variation was similar in both years (27 and 28%). Autumn-sown plants produced more standing biomass (17%) than spring-sown plants. Winter death was strongly related to other characters, particularly in the colder year. Principle component analysis proved to be efficient at simplifying the results by classifying the eleven variables into three main groups on the basis of seed size, maturity and winter hardiness. There is wide, exploitable phenotypic variation, and enhanced adaptation for autumn sowing could be achieved by selecting for large seeds and early maturity combined with reasonable winter survival.Additional key words: common vetch, Pearson correlation, plant metric characters, principle component analysis, variety development, winter hardiness. ResumenVariación fenotípica en poblaciones de veza (Vicia sativa ssp.) del centro de Turquía, sembradas en otoño y primavera La veza (Vicia sativa ssp. sativa) crece tradicionalmente en el centro de Turquía y las cosechas sufren pérdidas importantes en las frecuentes temporadas de sequía en primavera. La siembra en el otoño puede conducir a rendimientos más altos, pero las plantas pueden sufrir una mortandad elevada en el invierno, lo que representa un problema mayor. El objetivo de nuestra investigación fue explorar y cuantificar la variación para el vigor, el rendimiento y la adaptabilidad en una colección de germoplasma de V. sativa ssp. Se analizaron once caracteres vegetativos y sus inter-relaciones en 164 poblaciones de haba en siembras de otoño y primavera durante dos años. La mortalidad media en invierno fue un 27% superior en el segundo año, aunque la magnitud del coeficiente de variación fue similar en ambos años (27% y 28%). Las plantas sembradas en otoño produjeron más biomasa (17%) que las de primavera. La mortalidad registrada en invierno estuvo fuertemente relacionada con otros caracteres, particularmente con el índice de heladas anual. El análisis de componentes principales demostró su eficiencia para la simplificación y clasificación de las once variables en tres grupos principales sobre la base del tamaño de la muestra, madurez y resistencia al frío. Existe una amplia variación aprovechable y se demuestra la posibilidad de incrementar la adaptación en la siembra de otoño, con una razonable supervivencia en invierno, mediante la selección de plantas con semillas de mayor tamaño y madurez temprana Palabras clave a...

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Hungarian vetch (Vicia pannonica Crantz.) is an important forage crop in both central Turkey (CT) and central European countries. It can be grown in CT as winter crop, but frequent spring droughts cause yield losses. Our objectives were (I) to investigate agro-biological variation among populations, (II) to identify useful plant characters and (III) to develop selection strategies. Forty-five accessions of both var. pannonica and var. purpurascens were evaluated for the 11 plant characters in 2002/03 cropping season. Var. pannonica was late flowering, had more stems and seeds per pod, and longer stems and pods. Var. purpurascens had earlier flowering, more days to physiological maturity, more pods, greater plant biomass and heavier seeds. As var. purpurascens was early flowering, its longer seed-filling period is likely to contribute to greater seed size and weight. However, in var. pannonica, late flowering and ensuing delayed maturity caused strong negative associations between days-toharvest and other characters. If the earliness, higher biomass and seed size from var. purpurascens, and the many long stems and long pods from var. pannonica could be incorporated into one or more genotypes through Mendelian crossings, seed and hay yields would be substantially increased.