Promising legume-cereal grass mixtures for agroclimatic conditions of the European North of Russia

The article presents the results of scientific research for 1991–2021 years the North-Western Research Institute of Dairy and Grassland Farming, a separate subdivision of the VolRC RAS (Vologda Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences) on the creation of high-yielding legume-cereal grass mixtures for the agroclimatic conditions of the European North of Russia. According to the research results, technologies for growing promising crops (eastern goat, variable alfalfa, festulolium, reed fescue) in single-species and mixed crops have been developed. Bloodless crops of goat and grass mixtures for two mowing ensured the production of 7.2–7.9 t / ha of dry matter. In terms of productivity, single-species crops significantly exceeded mixed crops. From grass mixtures, stand out crops with meadow fescue, hedgehog and awnless rump stood out. The yield of variable alfalfa and grass mixtures with its participation for two mowing ranged from 7.8 to 9.5 t/ ha of dry matter. Significantly inferior to alfalfa by 0.86–1.04 t/ha of dry matter were grass mixtures with timofeevka. Single-species festulolium crops with two-mowing use were significantly inferior in yield to grass mixtures with leguminous grass species by 0.9-4.0 t/ha of SV. Legume-cereal grass mixtures were characterized by an increased protein content (1.7–2.1 times), fat (1.1–1.2 times), reduced fiber (1.2–1.3 times). Harvesting of the first mowing during the budding phase of legumes, the beginning of earing of the festulolium significantly reduced the yield of dry matter by 20% compared with harvesting during the flowering phase. At the same time, the protein content in the plant mass of early mowing increased by 12 % in festulolium, by 21–36 % in festulolium with clover and birdʼsfoot trefoil, and by 3–11 % in herbage with alfalfa. It is effective for three-mowing use to include reed fescue in legume-cereal grass mixtures. Grass mixtures with her participation in three mowing provide yields at the control level (two mowing), and in terms of protein yield per hectare exceed it by 26–31 %.

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