The article discusses the issues of more efficient use of the forage resource of the VIR leguminous collection as a source of high-grade protein in the north-west of the Russian Federation in addition to the perennial forage grasses produced here. As you know, the leading branch of agriculture in most of the territory of this region is dairy and meat farming, therefore, stable provision of animals with high-grade feed protein from our own production is one of the strategic priorities of agriculture. The aim of the study is to identify the gene pool preserved in the collection of genetic resources of leguminous crops of VIR, which can serve as a source material for the creation of fodder varieties for the Northwestern region of the Russian Federation. Due to the low heat supply, it is possible to grow and breed a limited set of leguminous crops here: fodder peas (pelyushka), horse fodder beans, vetch and woolly vetch, narrow-leaved lupine. However, there is practically no breeding of these crops in the region, although there is experience in creating varieties that have been in high demand for many years. On a relatively limited scale, mixed crops with a leguminous component have been introduced in the region. This ancient rational method of crop production can be implemented more actively, especially if mixed agrocenoses are designed based on the principles of phytocenotic breeding. An unlimited resource of forage plants can be wild flora, the species diversity of which is widely represented in the collection. It is necessary to use more fully the species of wild relatives of cultivated plants both for direct use as pasture crops, and for introgressive breeding and further introduction into culture
Keywords
Legumes, source material, forage varieties, mixed crops, phytocenotic breeding, wild species