Fodder beet gene pool from the VIR collection: diversity, potential

Relevance. As a source of juicy feed for livestock, fodder beet plays a leading role among fodder root crops. It plays an important role to solve the problem of improving domestic feed production, since the production of fodder beet is the most balanced in terms of carbohydrate and protein complex. A large number of feed units from the area of sowing in a complex with a high yield, a balanced mineral complex and the possibility of long-term storage makes the crop in demand for the livestock complex in Russia. The VIR fodder beet collection has a rich gene pool and, given the lack of varieties and hybrids in the State Register of the Russian Federation, is a source of raw material for domestic breeding. The purpose of the study is to identify the potential of the collection of fodder beet in the most important areas of modern crop selection. Materials and methods. The experiment involved a representative sample of 190 accessions that were grown in the vegetable crop rotation of the Research and Production Base of Pushkin Laboratories of the VIR from 2015 to 2019. Description and biochemical studies were carried out according to the VIR Guidelines. Results. The characteristics of fodder beet cultivars with signs of high yield, productivity, resistance to abiotic and biotic factors, suitability for mechanized harvesting and storability were given. There was a manifestation of axenium resistance of the culture to cercosporosis due to morphophysiological characteristics of the leaf apparatus of plants. Conclusions. The VIR fodder beet collection has a wide variety and well-studied gene pool, which is the potential to create the modern varieties and hybrids of crops with a complex of economically valuable characteristics, which are necessary for their high-tech production.