To comprehensively evaluate the differences in cadmium tolerance of different alfalfa （Medicago sativa L.） germplasms during seed germination， the indicators related to seed germination and seedling growth of 40 cultivars were measured under two conditions of control （distilled water） and cadmium stress （50 μmol·L^-1 CdCl₂） in this study. Based on the comprehensive indicator weight， membership function analysis and comprehensive evaluation value （D value）， the cadmium tolerance of the tested alfalfa germplasms was comprehensively analyzed. The results indicated that 50 μmol·L^-1 cadmium solution had inhibitory effects on nine indicators including seed vigor index， root length， and seedling vigor index of the tested alfalfa cultivars， with root length being the most inhibited. Based on the comprehensive evaluation of cadmium tolerance D value and systematic clustering analysis， the cadmium tolerance of 40 tested alfalfa germplasms was divided into three categories， namely strong cadmium tolerance （D≥0.691）， medium cadmium tolerance （0.691>D≥0.468） and weak cadmium tolerance （0.468>D）. The cultivars with the strongest and weakest cadmium tolerance were selected as ‘Bara520YQ’ and ‘WL298HQ’， respectively. This study provides a theoretical reference for screening and utilization of new germplasms of alfalfa with cadmium tolerance， the mining of cadmium tolerance genes， and the exploration of molecular regulatory mechanisms.

Alfalfa  /  Seed germination  /  Cadmium tolerance  /  Comprehensive evaluation  /  Cluster analysis