STUDY OF COLLECTION SAMPLES OF ANNUAL WHITE SWEET CLOVER AS A SOURCE OF PARENT MATERIAL FOR BREEDING FORAGE GRASSES

Abstract

The article presents data on the evaluation of the parent material of the collection samples of annual white sweet clover in the conditions of the Central Fore-Caucasus.
The purpose of the research was to study and select breeding material for the development of
new varieties of annual white sweet clover for the conditions of the Central Fore-Caucasus.
Due to the absence of annual varieties of sweet clover in the North Caucasus, the study and
selection of promising new genotypes for obtaining varieties was relevant for science and
practice. The studies were conducted in 2019-2021. We studied 16 samples of sweet clover
from the collection of All-Russian Research Institute of Plant Industry and two wild samples
of regional origin. A high-yielding Bison variety (Canada) was used as a control sample. The
method of sample sowing was hill dropping, 5-7 pieces of seeds per hole; row spacing was 70
cm; the distance between the holes was 30 cm, followed by a thinning out to one plant in the
hole. The plot area was 4,2 m2. The standard was sown after 6 samples. The preceding crop
was winter wheat. During three years of the research, two local wild samples, Local 1 (-18
days) and Local 2 (-13 days) had the shortest growing season in comparison with the standard. On average, over 3 years of the research, the highest plant height was observed in sample
38051 from the Stavropol Territory and amounted to 135,3 cm, which was 20,6 centimeters
higher than the standard. On average, during the same period of the research, the increase in
hay yield ranged from 16,8 to 32,2 c/ha. The maximum increase in the hay yield was achieved
by the samples of the sweet clover 38051 (+32,2%), 33942 (+16,8%), Local 1 (+17,6%). According to the studied parameters, three samples were singled out: 38051 (Stavropol Territory), 33942 (Ryazan Region) from the collection of All-Russian Research Institute of Plant Industry and a wild sample of the Stavropol Territory – Local 1. They showed the best results in
the length of the growing season, plant height and hay yield, which would be involved in the
further breeding process.