PRODUCTIVITY OF ALFALFA DEPENDENT FROM VARIETY FEATURES AND HYDRO-THERMAL CONDITIONS OF THE RIGHT BANK FOREST STEPPE

Abstract

The article presents the results of studies of the effect of seeding rates and row spacing on the forage productivity of different alfalfa ecotypes when mowing grass in the flowering stage. In the soil-climatic conditions of the right bank forest-steppe irrespective of the effect of abiotic and biotic factors during the growing season, high adaptability of alfalfa of the southern ecotype of the Angelica variety was established, which formed a stable crop of green mass at the optimal seeding rate (8,0 million/ha) and width 12,5 cm. For an average of two years of grass use, the varieties of alfalfa Rosana and Angelica provided a yield of green mass of 62,96-64,02 t/ha, which was 11,1-14,9% higher than for sowing with the norm of sowing 4,0 million/ha, and 6,3-7,1% with row spacing half (25,0 cm). It was found that in two years of use of alfalfa Angelica variety had higher dry matter content, compared with the variety of Rosana and were respectively 23,05 and 22,98%. There was a gradual decrease in the dry matter content with a thickening of the herbage in the Rosana variety from 23,32 to 22,72% and from the Angelica variety from 23,31 to 22,84%. As the row spacing increased from 12,5 to 25,0 cm, the solids content increased by 0,28-0,62%, or 22,74-22,84 and 23,12-23,36%. The crude protein content in the dry matter of alfalfa plants of both varieties differed by slopes and years of herb use. The highest content of crude protein was obtained in the dry matter for sowing with a row spacing of 12,5 cm, which averaged 21,10% in the Rosana variety and 20,23% in the Angelica variety or increased by 0,79-0,87%, compared to the row spacing of 25,0 cm. Thus, irrespective of the hydrothermal conditions during the growing season of the studied varieties of alfalfa sowing Rosana and Angelika, the average yield of dry matter at the level of 13,64-13,93 and 2,76-2,88 t/ha of crude protein at the width of row 12,5 cm. Key words: alfalfa, variety, flowering start, crude protein, dry matter, yield, green mass.