PROMISING SAMPLES OF COCKSFOOT FOR THE USE IN BREEDING FOR SEED YIELD

Abstract

In order to ensure adequate feeding of farm animals, it is extremely necessary to use highly adaptive species of perennial grasses in forage production. For the creation of highly productive and long-term hayfields and pastures in the south of Russia, cocksfoot has been recognized as very promising grass. The crop is capable of providing high yields of forage mass with good feed qualities. In the North Caucasus region, the most widely cultivated variety of cocksfoot is Genra variety, which was created in the FSBSI “North Caucasus Federal Agricultural Research Center” more than 20 years ago and it no longer meets modern production requirements. The studies were conducted from 2022 to 2025 at the demonstration trail of the FSBSI “North Caucasus Federal Agricultural Research Center”. The purpose of the studies was to study the collection of cocksfoot of various ecological and geographical origins and select promising forms to create new varieties with high seed yield. Based on the results of the work, an assessment of the phenotypic and genetic variability of 63 wild samples and varieties of domestic and foreign selections in the conditions of the unstable moisture zone of the Stavropol Territory was given. The standard variety significantly exceeded wild collection samples K-29059 from Canada (+20 %), K-22499 from Denmark (+4 %) and the local population from the Stavropol Territory (+2 %) in seed yield. Wild samples from the Stavropol Territory, K-31614 from Ukraine and Priekulskaia variety K-31664 from Latvia were also selected as genetic sources based on seed yield in different years of grass stand use.