Wild populations of vetches (Vicia) as forage and green manure crops for temperate regions

essential contribution to the quality of pasture and meadow communities and soil fertility. Among such are narrow-leafed vetch (V. sativa subsp. nigra (L.) Ehrh.), large-flowered vetch (V. grandiflora Scop.), hairy vetch (V. villosa Roth), Hungarian vetch (V. pannonica Crantz) and tiny vetch (V. hirsuta (L.) Gray). As crude protein concentration in dry matter is more than 200 g/kg, these vetch species are richer in N than other forage legumes such as lucerne or pea and are able to answer the demands for a quality source of both forage and green manure. Long-term programmes on annual legume genetic resources in Slovakia and Serbia have been articulated through a bilateral project Conservation of the Genetic Resources of Annual Forage and Grain Legumes in Slovakia and Serbia (2008–2009), with emphasis on vetches. As the initial step, wild populations of many vetch species, with emphasis upon narrow-leafed, large-flowered, hairy, Hungarian and tiny vetches, have been mapped, described and conserved ex situ in the form of herbarium and seed samples. The collected seed material has been multiplied and each accession entered the processes of characterization, with emphasis upon leaf and seed morphology, and evaluation of forage and seed yields and forage dry matter chemical composition. One of the outcomes is the selection of the lines with desirable characteristics and their improvement by breeding into advanced varieties, suitable for forage production and green manure. The wild populations of all examined vetch species show a wide variability of forage yield and seed yield components. Hairy vetch has potential for 50 t/ha of green forage and 12 t/ha of forage dry matter, while largeflowered vetch may produce more than 40 t/ha of green forage and nearly 14 t/ha of forage dry matter (Mikic ´ et al., 2009). Due to a less prominent pod dehiscence, Hungarian vetch has the potential to increase seed production. Certain wild populations, especially of large-flowered and hairy vetches, may produce up to 400 kg/ha of forage N, apart from N accumulated by roots. Common to all examined wild vetch species is an excellent temperature tolerance, with an average absolute minimum of near −20 °C in some years. Additionally, when sown in late September, all reach the optimal stage to be cut for forage in April and thus leave enough time for the next main crop such as maize, forage sorghum or Sudan grass.