1. 8498 is a synthetic variety with 10 parent clones. Parents were selected based on clonal and/or polycross progeny tests for forage yield, forage quality, fall dormancy reaction, persistence, pest resistance and multifoliolate leaf expression from several breeding populations previously selected for resistance to one or more of the following pests: bacterial wilt, Fusarium wilt, Verticillium wilt, anthracnose (race 1), Phytophthora root rot, Aphanomyces root rot (race 1) and spotted alfalfa aphid. A combination of genotypic and phenotypic recurrent selection was used in the development of this variety. The parental populations from which all clones were derived trace to the following cultivars: Encore (20%), Prism (20%), A