Breeding of Creeping Clover in the Forest-Steppe Conditions of the Middle Volga Region

Abstract

The article presents the data of assessing the productivity and nutritional value of selection samples of creeping clover in the nursery of the competitive variety testing of 2016 sowing for three years of use. The purpose of the research is to identify a promising breeding material of creeping clover for creating a variety with high productivity of green mass and seeds, suitable for mechanized harvesting of seeds for the conditions of the forest-steppe of the Middle Volga region. The research was carried out in 2017-2019 on the experimental field of a separate subdivision of Penza FGBSI FSC of BC in accordance with the methodological instructions for the selection of perennial grasses. On average over three years of use in terms of the yield of green mass – 15.00-16.44 t/ha, cultivar samples of creeping clover V-92, Yu-90, P-97, Pl-90-4 significantly exceeded the VIK-70 standard (14,01 t/ha) by 7.1-17.3%, for the collection of dry matter – 3.49-3.97 t/ha varieties V-92, Yu-90, P-97 and Pl-90-3 reliably exceeded the standard (3.29 t/ha) by 6.1-20.7%, in the collection of digestible protein – 0.44-0.49 t/ha, the varieties B-92 and P-97 exceeded the standard (0, 40 t/ha) by 10.0-22.5%. Maximum values of the yield of green mass (16.44 t/ha), dry matter collection (3.97 t/ha), digestible protein (0.49 t/ha), feed units (5.04 t/ha) and exchange energy (49.12 GJ/ha) on average for the years of testing showed the sample P-97. This specimen significantly exceeded the standard in terms of structural elements and seed yield by 50.5%, in the height of leaf petioles by 3.5% and peduncles by 2.5%, which is important for mechanized harvesting of seeds. When selecting for the productivity of creeping clover, one should pay attention to the signs associated with the yield of green mass and seeds. The length of leaf petioles correlates with the length of peduncles (r = 0.78), the number of seeds in the head (r = 0.46), the number of inflorescences in the head (r = 0.47), with the collection of dry matter (r = 0.31). The length of the peduncles correlates with the collection of dry matter (r = 0.30), with the number of inflorescences in the head (r = 0.54), and with the number of seeds in the head (r = 0.51). The number of inflorescences in the head correlates with the number of seeds in the head (r = 0.61) and with the yield of seeds (r = 0.31)