Successful seed management of perennial legumes as the key to expanding the sowing areas of field and meadow agrophytocoenoses

Abstract

Purpose. To investigate and theoretically substantiate methods of increasing the sowing and productivity properties of seeds of perennial legumes and, on their basis, develop new and improve existing resource-saving, competitive growing technologies due to the use of mineral, fast-acting limestone fertilizers, seed inoculation with bacterial preparations based on various strains of nitrogen-fixing microorganisms and foliar feeding during the growing season with biostimulants and anti-stressors in order to expand economically valuable field and meadow grass stands on degraded natural pastures. Methods. Field, laboratory, visual, measuring, weight, quantitative, test sheaf method, mathematical, statistical. Results. Agrobiological bases for the formation of fruiting elements of perennial leguminous grasses with high productivity and sowing properties have been developed. They imply seed inoculation with the bacterial preparation Rhizobophyt 0.15 l/ha and foliar fertilizing with anti-stressor in the phase of stemming and budding of grasses on the ground of the basic fertilizer for cover crop (N30P60-90K60-90) in combination with a fast-acting limestone fertilizer (Ca(OH)2 – slaked lime – 1.2 t/ha) 0.5 norms for hydrolytic acidity. This contributed to the formation of the maximum seed yield of alfalfa – 0.29-0.30 t/ha, meadow clover – 0.47-0.49 t/ha, hybrid clover – 0.30-0.31 t/ha, deer vetch – 0.45-0.47 t/ha. Conclusions. For the successful seed production of new high-yielding varieties of perennial leguminous grasses with high sowing and productive properties, a mandatory measure is, against the background of the main fertilization with mineral and fast-acting limestone fertilizers for cover crops, the pre-sowing treatment of seeds with the bacterial preparation Rhizobophyt and foliar fertilizing with the anti-stressor Agrohumat, which contributed on average, over the years of research, to increase seed productivity by 21-57%.