Kosolapov VM, Cherniavskih VI, Kostenko SI. Fundamentals for forage crop breeding and seed production in Russia.
Vavilovskii Zhurnal Genet Selektsii 2022;
25:401-407. [PMID:
35088011 PMCID:
PMC8765779 DOI:
10.18699/vj21.044]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2021] [Revised: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Plant breeding and seed production of new generation fodder crops is the groundwork for creating a fodder base for livestock production in sufficient quantities. The Federal Williams Research Center of Forage Production
and Agroecology founded in 2018 based on of the All-Russia Williams Fodder Research Institute and other scientific
institutions is the largest and most comprehensive center in the field of food production. It develops new techniques
and methods for creating initial seed material based on a wide use of genetics, biotechnology, microbiology, immunology, ecology, biogeocenology, and cell selection. During the existence of the Fodder Research Institute and
its experimental stations, up to 300 varieties of feed crops were created, which occupied leading positions in the
production of fodder in meadows, pastures, and hayfields. Eighty-five modern varieties of fodder crops of the latest
generation are widely used and zoned in all regions of Russia. However, the destroyed system of elite and commercial seed production does not allow these varieties to take their rightful place in fodder production, and the
market still possesses a large share of non-varietal and mass scale reproduction seeds. In addition, imported seeds
brought to the Russian market are often disguised as lawn varieties to reduce the cost and simplify their entry to the
market. In this way, 107 varieties of winter ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), 47 varieties of cane fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.), 21 varieties of creeping clover (Trifolium repens L.), etc. appeared in Russia. In such circumstances, the attention of the Williams Center is focused on the development of techniques and methods for creating fundamentally
new varieties based on its own research in genetics, biotechnology, immunology, and ecological selection. Much attention is paid to expanding the network of research stations throughout Russia in order to revive the system of elite
seed growing, especially in the regions with the most favorable climate for growing seeds of particular crops. A seed
production center was organized as a branch of the Williams Center at the end of 2020. In the future, it is planned
to create a united coordinated interdepartmental complex for the breeding of fodder crops in accordance with the
regional needs of animal husbandry
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