subsp. sativa and nothosubsp. varia (Martyn) Arcang. (Johnson and Tieszen, 1994;Ray et al., 1998). A range Designing effective breeding strategies to integrate selection for of 0.8‰ was detected for ⌬ among 78 winterhardy North carbon isotope discrimination (⌬), as a means to improve alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) water-use efficiency (WUE), will depend upon American cultivars (Johnson and Rumbaugh, 1995), and the association between ⌬ and forage yield. The current study was a range of 0.9‰ among half-sib families of an elite alfalfa conducted to determine responses in ⌬ affiliated with significant yield breeding population (Ray et al., 1999a(Ray et al., , 1999b. Evidence responses that were previously observed among 36 diallel hybrids of clearly indicates that ⌬ should be amenable to manipulanine alfalfa germplasms (commonly referred to as African, Chilean, tion by traditional alfalfa breeding techniques. Narrow-Flemish, Indian, Ladak, M. falcata, M. varia, Peruvian, and Turkissense heritabilities for ⌬ under both irrigated and watertan). The influence of additive and nonadditive gene action on ⌬, and stressed conditions were 0.56 (Ray et al., 1999a, 1999b), the behavior of ⌬ across harvests was also determined. Forage yield while broad sense heritabilities based on individual plants and ⌬ of the germplasms and their half-diallel hybrids were evaluated exceeded 0.80 in alfalfa (Johnson and Rumbaugh, 1995). near Las Cruces, NM, during May, June, and July in each of 2 yr in Johnson and Rumbaugh (1995) reported significant GCA seeded plots that were flood irrigated every 14 d. Values for ⌬ of hybrids did not significantly exceed those of the most extreme parents effects, but not specific combining ability (SCA), for ⌬ in in any harvest. Variation for ⌬ among crosses was attributed primarily a diallel among 14 clones from the NC-83-1 germplasm to general combining ability (GCA) effects. The magnitude of parental (Kehr et al., 1975). The lack of significance for SCA in per se and GCA effects, and their ability to predict hybrid ⌬ varied that study may reflect the fact that NC-83-1 traced to substantially between the first harvest and later harvests. Variety only winterhardy accessions that were randomly intereffects for ⌬ in Ladak, M. varia, and M. falcata became increasingly mated for two cycles. Opportunities to detect SCA and/ negative as the growing season progressed, while those for African, or heterosis effects for ⌬ may be greater in hybrids de-Chilean, Flemish, Indian, Peruvian, and Turkistan increased. Results rived from distinct populations adapted to a wider range suggest that fundamental differences in stomatal conductance exist of climatic conditions. between subspecies sativa and falcata.