In central Turkey, common vetch is planted in spring, but frequent droughts cause crop failures. Autumn-sown vetch has more yield potential; but then winter killing is a major problem. Therefore, winter hardiness is a central requirement for successful vetch production. This study comprised two phases. First, eighteen lines out of 164 accessions were selected for their superiority, primarily for winter hardiness and earliness in 1999/00. Second, the selected lines along two local checks (var. SarıElçi and cv. KaraElçi) were evaluated for yield performances in multi-year trials established
in autumn and spring from 2000 to 2003. Autumn-sown vetch displayed 14.9% greater yield potential than spring vetch. As winter mortality decreased, seed yield increased in two cold environments (r2=0.41 and r2=0.54). The two genotypes (L-1430 and L-1548) showed the greatest stability across six environments, while L-581 and L-1544 were the best lines for autumn sowing. In conclusion, the level of variation found in the base populations did clearly show
potential for further development, and multi-environment trials singled out the V. sativa genotypes with enhanced winter hardiness.
