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The ALFALFA CATALOG Software Package
Author(s) -
Townsend M. S.,
Henning J. A.,
Currier C. G.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj1994.00021962008600020024x
Subject(s) - cultivar , germplasm , ascii , database , breeding program , plant breeding , biology , agronomy , computer science , operating system
Due to modern plant breeding methods, agricultural producers have many cultivars available for many different species. Consequently, it is often difficult to recommend a cultivar for a particular growing area. A list of alfalfa cultivars, germplasms, and breeding lines available was published. However, due to the large number of entries in these publications finding pertinent information about a cultivar, breeding line, or germplasm was tedious. The objectives of this project were to (i) develop a computer program to access the alfalfa information in the original database, and (ii) update the database to include those alfalfa cultivars, breeding lines, and germplasms released through late 1992. A computer program was written using Microsoft QuickBasic, ver. 4.5. The original alfalfa database was converted to ASCII format. The resulting software package is entitled the ALFALFA CATALOG ver. 1.0. Three program files and four data files comprise the ALFALFA CATALOG software package. Users may rapidly search the database and retrieve entries by cultivar name, experimental designation, or germ‐plasm. We also wrote a routine to print a list of all cultivars or germplasms that have a specific combination of traits. These search capabilities will allow plant breeders, extension agents, and consultants rapid access to pertinent alfalfa data. Currently, the ALFALFA CATALOG has 752 entries for cultivars and breeding lines, and 144 entries for germplasms. The database will be updated yearly. In its present form, the ALFALFA CATALOG is probably the most complete compilation of alfalfa cultivars, breeding lines, and germplasms available.