In Jordan, the improvement of vetch production is becoming one of the main objectives as its growing areas are decreasing either because of environmental or cropping system changes. However, there is no literature concerning the assessment of genetic diversity of vetches landraces that harbour important genes for the development of new adapted varieties. The present study aimed at collecting, evaluating and characterizing vetch landraces covering different parts of Jordan. Twenty-six vetch landraces were collected from different parts of Jordan during a period extended from April to May in 2006-07 growing season and assessed in the field during 2008-09 growing season. The experiment was conducted at three stations (Ghwier Agricultural Research Station, Rabba Agricultural Research Station and Jubeiha Agricultural Research Station, The University of Jordan). Results indicated that grain yield of Vicia erivillia landraces was higher than grain yield of Vicia sativa landraces, regardless of the growing location. However, biological yield obtained from V. sativa entries [671 kg/ha (entry no. 6) upto 2514 kg/ha (entry no. 1)] was higher than that obtained from V. erivillia entries [536 kg/ha (entry no. 10) upto 2125 kg/ha (entry no. 23)]. Similar trend was shown for straw yield where V. sativa entries had more vegetative growth compared to V. erivillia entries. These differences attributed to the dissimilarity in genetic make-up of the two species. For example, some researchers mention that V. erivillia produces more grain yield due to its ability to tolerate drought when compared to V. sativa. The identification of these superior adapted local landraces is the first step in fulfilling the objective of the national vetch breeding programme.
