VARIETIES OF FODDER GRASSES AS A FACTOR AND RESOURCE OF INNOVATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL FODDER PRODUCTION

Abstract

The article presents the results of the half-century history of breeding and
seed-growing work with perennial legumes and grasses, defines the prospects and tasks of
innovative development of this area for the future. Perennial grasses breeding in the Stavropol
Agricultural Research Institute was started in 1972 under the leadership of V.V. Kravtsov.
The basis for the beginning of breeding was a collection of 287 species of forage grasses,
which was created in 1966 by V. G. Tanfilev in Stavropol Botanical Garden. In the future, the
gene pool of perennial grasses was significantly expanded due to the world collection of VIR,
expeditions, the introduction of wild and certified seeds of various ecological and geographical origin. More than 10 thousand varieties of 45 species of legumes and about 25 thousand
of 30 species of cereal grasses were studied in collection nurseries. The selective breeding is
carried out according to the full scheme of the breeding process using introduction, intra- and
interspecific hybridization, polycross cross breeding of selected components to create complex hybrid populations and synthetic varieties, various selection methods, provocative backgrounds in accordance with the tasks. In the State Register of Breeding Achievements of the
Russian Federation, 10 varieties of legumes and 29 varieties of cereal grasses are currently
registered and approved for use in agricultural production in almost all regions of the country.
Annually, the sale of seeds of higher reproductions of varieties of Stavropol selection is more
than 10 thousand tons. Nowadays, selective breeding and seed production of forage grasses
are experiencing a new upsurge: the need for seed material of specialized varieties for specific
animal species and cultivation regions has increased, the issues of improving and maintaining
soil fertility are very urgent, the solution of which is almost impossible without perennial
grasses.