Low lignin non-transgenic alfalfa varieties and methods for producing the same

A method of introducing a desired trait into alfalfa CW 099079 comprising:

• (a) crossing CW 099079 plants grown from CW 099079 seed, representative seed of which has been deposited under ATCC Accession No:
• PTA-122474, with plants of a second alfalfa variety that comprise a desired trait to produce F1 progeny plants, wherein the desired trait is selected from the group consisting of male sterility, site-specific recombination, increased transformability, abiotic stress tolerance, herbicide resistance, insect resistance, disease resistance, altered phosphorus, altered antioxidants, altered fatty acids, altered essential amino acids and altered carbohydrates;
• (b) selecting F1 progeny plants that have the desired trait to produce selected F1 progeny plants;
• (c) crossing the selected progeny plants with the CW 099079 plants to produce backcross progeny plants;
• (d) selecting for backcross progeny plants that have the desired trait and physiological and morphological characteristics of alfalfa variety CW 099079 to produce selected backcross progeny plants;
• and (e) repeating steps (c) and (d) three or more times in succession to produce selected fourth or higher backcross progeny plants that comprise the desired trait and all the physiological and morphological characteristics of alfalfa variety CW 099079.