The article provides data on improving the raw material base for high protein feeds production on the example of perennial legumes – bird’s foot trefoil, sickle alfalfa, and meadow and hybrid clover. The studied cultures are compared in terms of their vegetation phases, mowing period, chemical composition, yield of green and dry mass. The time and conditions to obtain the highest content of vegetable proteins is indicated.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 Unported License, permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The article discusses the problem of saving and development of nature-created vegetation cover of natural lands, the rational use of which ensures sustainable development of the biosphere and the feed industry. The measures for improvement and rational use of natural hayfields and pastures are suggested, the potential fund of forage lands is identified according to the conducted geobotanical survey. Scientifically grounded recommendations for improvement and rational use of natural hayfields and pastures are developed.

The objects of this research are microplants of 3 potato varieties acquired from the lab of Novgorod regional branch of Federal State Budgetary Institution “Russian agricultural center” in order to create a nursery. The research goal is to study the characteristics of growth and development of potato varieties, to gain healthy starter material in Novgorod region and to use it in seed production. In the course of this research, phenological observations of growth and development of potato microplants were performed, the effect of the application of “Agrovit-Kor” fertilizer on growth and development of potato microplants was studied and a field nursery of elite and super-elite class potatoes was created. As a result of the study of crops productivity and harvest indexes in D. P. Pavlyuk farm, Aurora potato variety was singled out. Productivity of its plants was 319.7 gram per one bush and its harvest index is 1:15. Impala potato variety stood out in the course of the same study in N. S. Kolesnikov farm - productivity of its plants was 220.9 gram per one bush and its harvest index was 1:12. Red Scarlett variety gives constant yields of potato minitubers. We recommend to perform health-improvement of Red Scarlett potato variety, increase the growing space of microplants, adjust air conditions in greenhouses, improve the drip irrigation system and if possible, install an automatic control system; add growth promoting substances to soil mixture in order to enhance the resistance of microplants to the air conditions in greenhouses; to plant out microplants in the first decade of June for better survivability and protection from late spring frosts and temporary drought that might come due to a sharp rise of mean daily temperatures. We recommend to use “Agrovit-Kor” fertilizer and add calculated doses of humates and growth promoting substances to soil mixtures in order to improve survivability, to encourage an even formation of plants habitus and to increase the harvest index of potato minitubers. In order to improve water conditions, it is required to install a drop irrigation system, expand the range of usage of middle-early potato varieties of Russian (“Eurasia”) and Belarusian (“Yanka”, “Skarb”) selection.

Improving the feed base in the North-West region is a priority for providing farm animals with complete feeds. Perennial legumes contain nutrients that are necessary to increase the productivity of farm animals and adapted to the soil and climatic conditions of the region. Legume plants in the composition of grass mixtures form high and stable yields, are characterized by intensive growth rates after the next alienation, and are resistant to intensive hay or pasture use. Each plant species has different requirements for the biological characteristics of growth and development to the growing conditions, therefore, monitoring of species is relevant for their further conservation. For the successful realization of the potential capabilities of perennial leguminous plants, it is necessary to effectively use their gene pool of wild and cultivated species that grow in the flora of the Novgorod region. The article studies the biological and economic properties and characterizes perennial leguminous plants for cultivation in the North-West region of Russia. Laws of transformation of matter and energy within the agrogeosystem and methods for their improvement. Plant communities were identified in which perennial leguminous plants grow, which have selection value as a source material for selection. The structural features of root systems, the reaction to the groundwater level were studied, and their ecological plasticity was revealed.