Implementation of the Bioresource Potential of Some Varieties of Medicago varia Mart. in Various Ecotopes of the South of the Central Russian Upland

Abstract

In the period 2016–2018. in the ecotopes of the South of the Central Russian Upland, the productivity of various populations of alfalfa (M. varia) was studied. Studied breeding material created on the basis of forms with high expression of mf-mutation in comparison with the initial population of varieties from which the selection of mutant forms was carried out. Populations with high expression of the mf mutation showed their potential for high productivity of aboveground phytomass only under conditions of high soil fertility and optimal ecotopic conditions, most favorable for the growth and development of M. varia. When sown in unfavorable conditions, they reduced their productivity in comparison with the original breeding populations. Under the conditions of ecotopes of field crop rotations with chernozem soil, the productivity of the aboveground phytomass of variety populations with high expression of the mf mutation was significantly higher than that of the original varieties. Selection samples with high expression of the mf mutation K-1/10 mf and B-86/3 mf in the ecotope of field crop rotation with typical heavy loamy chernozem provided the aboveground phytomass of 1209.7 g/ m2 and 1175.8 g/ m2, respectively. In the conditions of the meadow ecotope, on the contrary, they were inferior to the original varieties by 50 – 65 g/ m2. In the ecotope conditions with leached sandy chernozem, no significant differences were found between them.