CREATION OF ALUCERN VARIETY FOR PASTURE USE

In modern conditions, the increased needs of livestock and fodder base have increased the requirements for cultivated varieties of alfalfa. The existing varieties of alfalfa in the republic are of the hay type. Their use in grazing mode after a few years completely falls out of the herbage; if alfalfa is grown in a grass mixture with cereals and other grasses, then after 23 years only cereal crops remain, i.e., the competitiveness of these varieties in the grass mixture is extremely low. Foreign varieties of alfalfa, recommended for pasture use in the republic, fall out of the grass mixture on the pasture within two to three years of use due to low competitive ability and poor resistance to grazing. The intensive use of pastures at the present time leads to a sharp decrease in productivity, the loss of cultivated plants from the herbage, an increase in weeds and inedible plants, and as a result, degradation of pastures occurs. Therefore, the breeding of productive, competitive and sustainable varieties for the creation of cultivated and improved natural pastures is an urgent task for the fodder production of the republic