Adoption of Promising Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graceum L.) Genotypes for Yield and Quality Characteristics in the Semiarid Climate of Turkey

Abstract

This study was conducted for two seasons from 2018 to 2020 to determine fenugreek genotypes yield and quality characteristics under semiarid climatic conditions. Fenugreek genotypes viz., Adana, Afghanistan, Gaziantep, Iraq, Kahramanmaraş, Kayseri, Mardin, Şanlıurfa with varieties of Berkem and Gürarslan were used as plant material in the research. Field trials were conducted with four replications according to the randomized complete block design. The results revealed that the time to emergence varied from 16.0 to 19.9 days, 50% flowering from 160.9 to 170.4 days, and the vegetation period from 202.0 to 209.3 days. According to the results of two years of research, plant height varied from 64.60 to 78.70 cm, first pod height from 25.26 to 41.76 cm, pod width from 2.91 to 3.29 mm, pod length from 10.07 to 12.60 cm, number of pods per plant from 12.00 to 18.73, number of seeds per pod from 12.55 to 15.55, biological yield from 5.12 to 7.62 t/ha−1, seed yield from 0.91 to 1.38 t/ha−1, harvest index from 17.91 to 24.35%, thousand-seed weight from 13.87 to 17.45 g, fatty oil content from 5.18 to 9.16%, fatty oil yield from 49.3 to 111.6 kg ha−1, and the trigonelline ratio varied from 0.71 to 1.32%. Statistically significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) were observed for the pod width, while highly significant differences (p ≤ 0.01) were observed for all other parameters. According to the research results, Mardin, Kayseri, and Adana genotypes were statistically in the same group with Berkem cultivar in terms of seed yield. A higher fatty oil content was obtained in the Afghanistan genotype (9.16%) than in the Berkem cultivar (8.11%). Gaziantep, Mardin, Şanlıurfa, and Kayseri genotypes contained higher trigonellin than the Berkem and Gürarslan varieties. The obtained information was the result of the Mardin, Kayseri, Adana, Gaziantep, and Afghanistan genotypes that can be used in breeding studies.