Two cycles of modified mass selection and one cycle of family selection were applied on a population of the Fahl variety of Egyptian clover. In 2003/2004, two hundred plants (5% selection intensity) were selected for seed yield, using the modified mass selection method. Equal seeds from each selected plant were bulked to form each of two selection cycles. Plants selected for C1 were also raised as half sib families in 2004/2005 and selection was practiced between and within families for the best 10 families (5% selection intensity). Seeds of selected half-sib families and both modified mass selection cycles C1 and C2 along with the base population were evaluated for forage and seed yields In 2005/2006 season. Gains realized from C1 and C2 mass selection, respectively were 13.59 and 18.45% for seed yield, 4.94 and 14.38% for fresh forage yield, 5.32 and 13.22% for dry forage yield, 4.05 and 11.56% for protein yield and 9.12 and 13.21% for 1000-seed weight over the base population. Gains from family selection as % of base population were 18.45, 8.88, 9.91, 11.56 and 3.77% for these traits in order. Broad sense heritability as based on variance components among half-sib families were 76.82, 76.10, 98.24, 98.73, and 84.34 for seed yield, fresh forage yield, dry forage yield, protein yield, and 1000-seed weight, respectively.
All studied traits were positively correlated but the correlation between seed and forage yields were weak. However, one half-sib family was 30.10% higher than base population in seed yield, 34.15% in fresh forage yield, 35.78% in dry forage yield and 36.42% in protein yield and 16.35% heavier in specific seed weight . Results suggest that family selection may be more effective for improving seed yield than modified mass selection.