Tag Archives: shortfall in seed production

2137-2145 V. Obraztsov, D. Shchedrina and S. Kadyrov
The effect of herbicides on seed productivity of Festulolium
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The effect of herbicides on seed productivity of Festulolium

V. Obraztsov*, D. Shchedrina and S. Kadyrov

Voronezh State Agrarian University named after Emperor Peter the Great, Faculty of Agricultural Science, Department of Crop Science, Forage Production and Agricultural Technologies, ul. Michurina 1, RU394087 Voronezh, Russia
*Correspondence: ovennn@mail.ru

Abstract:

An artificially developed intergeneric hybrid FestuloliumFestulolium F. Aschers, et Graebn.) is the best forage crop with high energy and protein nutrition value which can be used for green fodder when creating cultural haylands and pastures. The advantages of this crop are high regrow capacity, high content of sugars and good winter hardiness. Wide use of this new crop in fodder production is constrained, firstly, because the crop is yet new and little known and, secondly, because there is a lack of seeds due to imperfections in the production technology. There are still very few scientific studies on the biology and technology of Festulolium cultivation in the forest-steppe of the Central Chernozem Region of Russia. In our works we were the first to study the biological features of Festulolium and develop the main technological methods of growing and harvesting its seeds. The work was carried out in long-term studies of the Department of Crop Science, Forage Production and Agricultural Technologies of Voronezh State Agrarian University in 2009–2011. The soil in the experimental plot was leached medium loamy chernozem. The experiments involved the VIK-90 Festulolium variety with the preceding crop being the vetch-oat mixture harvested for green fodder. The soil preparation was conventional for seed herbage of perennial grasses in the Central Chernozem Region. The associated records and observations were made according to conventional methods adopted in the seed production of perennial grasses. A high efficiency of the Aurorex (0.55 L ha-1) and the Dicamba (0.15 L ha-1) herbicides in the suppression of annual and perennial dicotyledonous weed plants has been identified. The application of these herbicides has significantly reduced (by 40–73%) the weed infestation of seed herbage in the first year of vegetation and, as a result, has improved its structure and crop quality. The use of the developed agricultural techniques allows reducing the energy costs and receiving an average of 433–496 kg ha-1 of certified seeds.

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