N.I. Kasatkina, Zh.S. Nelyubina
Udmurt Research Institute of Agriculture, ul. Lenina, 1, s. Pervomayskii, Udmurtskaya Respublica, 427007, Russian Federation
Summary. It is necessary to have varieties of forage crops, including alfalfa, which are resistant to different stress factors. The purpose of the study was to estimate the productivity of alfalfa varieties at the cultivation for forage and seeds, select the most promising of them under conditions of the Middle Cis-Ural region. The tasks of the investigation was to study the influence of abiotic conditions, age of herbage on the productivity of dry above-ground mass, seeds of alfalfa varieties; to determine their feeding value. Field experiments to identify the feed and seed production of alfalfa varieties (bred at Ural, Bashkir and Tatar Agricultural Research Institutes) depending on the abiotic conditions and age of the herbage were carried out in 2010-2015 on sod-podzol medium loamy soils typical for the Middle Cis-Ural region. Meteorological conditions during the research were different and had great influence on the productivity of alfalfa varieties. For the formation of seed, conditions with hot and humid or with relatively dry growing season proved to be the most favorable. The average yield over alfalfa varieties in the first year of use was 264 kg/ha, in the second one – 453 kg/ha. Under conditions of cold and rainy growing season the seed productivity of alfalfa of the second year of use was only 67 kg/ha. All varieties were characterized by a significant (25-53%) range of variation of seed yield. The average yield of dry above-ground mass over alfalfa varieties in the first year of use ranged from 5.3 to 14.3 t/ha. The coefficient of variation was 43-56%. In the second year of use the harvest of dry matter of alfalfa was at the level of 6.0-11.3 t/ha. Variability of productivity was somewhat lower; the coefficient of variation was 33%. The relatively hot and dry weather contributed to the formation of high forage productivity. On average during the years of the research varieties Chishminskaya, Tatarskaya Pastbishchnaya and Guzel formed high seeds yield (239-251 kg/ha). Varieties Tatarskaya Pastbishchnaya and Guzel ensure the harvest of dry matter on the level of the standard variety Sarga (9.0 t/ha). The green mass of alfalfa was characterized by a high nutritional value and corresponded to zootechnical standards.
Keywords: alfalfa, seed productivity, feed productivity, age of the herbage, feed quality.
Author Details: N.I. Kasatkina, Cand. Sc. (Agr.), leading research fellow (e-mail: Этот адрес электронной почты защищён от спам-ботов. У вас должен быть включен JavaScript для просмотра.); Zh.S. Nelyubina, Cand. Sc. (Agr.), leading research fellow.
For citation: Kasatkina N.I., Nelyubina Zh.S. Productivity of Alfalfa Varieties depending on the Abiotic Conditions of the Middle Cis-Ural Region // Dostizheniya nauki i tekhniki APK. 2016. V.30. No 4. Pp. 41-44 (In Russ.).