Increasing the market significance of forage crops by breeding and optimizing seed production technology

The research will comprise the activities on breeding, development and commercialization of the newly developed cultivars of the most important perennial and annual field forage crops (alfalfa, red clover, field pea, vetches, forage sorghum, Sudan grass, fodder kale), as well as on the improvement of forage and seed production. The existing collection of forage crops will be enlarged. The genotypes with high forage dry matter yield and increased crude protein content in forage and grain dry matter will be identified. The best genotypes will be multiplied and used for developing new cultivars. Forage crops will be bred for higher yield of biomass for novel uses (biofuel), for higher tolerance to low pH soil values, as well as for higher seed yield. The efficiency of individual selection, diallel analysis and progeny tests will be studied in estimating the heritability. The divergence of the annual and perennial forage legumes populations will be estimated with RAPD and SSR markers. A detailed histological analysis of alfalfa and field pea will be carried out and used for selecting the material with desirable traits for the further selection process (reduced lodging susceptibility and increased seed coat elasticity). The impact of sowing schedule and method and the moisture content in harvest on seed yield components, seed yield and seed quality will be examined. The effect of lime application on alfalfa and field pea yield and quality on moderately acid soil will be assessed.