ABSTRACT
The percentage of natural crossing in lucerne varies with temperature, moisture and bee activity as well as with the genotypes involved. Lucerne germplasm conservation could be made by tissue culture storage, vegetative propagation or seed storage with periodical seed regeneration to avoid germinability losses and genetic degeneration. The vegetative propagation of lucerne involves considerable risks both for degeneration caused by virus and for pcpulational shifts to genotypes better adapted to vegetative propagation. In lucerne, open pollinated seed production of 300 – 400 genotypes for each population, grown as spaced plants, seems to be the most useful seed regeneration system. At present, lucerne is the most important leguminous forage plant in several countries of Europe, Asia, North Africa, North and South America, and therefore there is a great need for collection and maintenance of its germplasm resources.
