Thor
1. Thor originates from 30 parent clones, 24 of which were selected from Saranac, 4 from Cardinal and 2 from Cardinal x Glacier crosses. Initial selections were made in the bacterial wilt nursery. The final 30 parent clones were selected on the basis of progeny performance for forage production, rate of recovery and growth habit in replicated trials. All of the 30 parent clones are resistant to bacterial wilt. Initial selection began in 1954 with the Saranac clones entering the program in 1964.
2. Thor is considered primarily for use in hay production and adapted to areas where Flemish alfalfas have performed satisfactorily previously. Thor is expected to provide additional production years where bacterial wilt has been the limiting factor in stand longevity of wilt susceptible Flemish varieties.
3. Dark purple to blue flowers with various gradations. Uniformity similar to Saranac. More winter dormant than DuPuits and less dormant than Ranger, similar or slightly less dormant than Saranac. Erect growth habit. Dark green foliage color similar to Saranac and DuPuits. Highly resistant to bacterial wilt.
4. Breeder - foundation - certified will be the generation sequence. Breeder seed is a bulk of seed produced by the random interpollination of the 30 parent clones. Foundation seed production will be limited to the States of Washington, Idaho and Nevada. Advanced generations produced from the certified seed will not be recognized as Thor. The 30 parent clones will be maintained at Washington, Iowa.
5. 1971.