Productivity and nutritional value of alfalfa-grass mixture of the first year of use in the conditions of the Yaroslavl oblast

The study was conducted in a field experiment laid down in 2017 at the experimental field of the Yaroslavl Scientific Research Institute of Livestock Breeding and Forage Production - branch of the Federal State Budget Scientific Institution “Federal Williams Research Center of Forage Production and Agroecology” (YarSRILF - FWRC FPA). The total area of the plot is 120 m2, the design of blocks is randomized in triple repetition. The object of the study was alfalfa-grass mixture of the first year of use: alfalfa changeable (Medicago varia L.) Blagodat' (seed rate 10 kg/ha)+ common timothy (Phleum pratense L.) Yaroslavskaya 11 (seed rate 5 kg/ha) + meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.) Lyudmila (seed rate 6 kg/ha), which are cultivated in the seven-field crop rotation. Perennial grasses were sown under the cover of vetch-oat mixture, the predecessor was Volkhov's winter rye. During the experiment, perennial grasses were cultivated according to the following technologies: environmental, organic, biologized and intensive. The aim of the research is to assess the quality of alfalfa-grass mixture for the production of high-quality feed with the use of different cultivation technologies. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that various technologies of cultivation of alfalfa-grass mixture will be studied for the first time in the conditions of the Yaroslavl Oblast. The practical significance lies in the fact that the production will be offered various technologies of cultivation of alfalfa-grass mixture, and the choice of these technologies will depend on the availability of the necessary material and technical resources in the economy. The finding of the research have shown that on sod-podzolic medium-loamy and slightly acidic soil with an average content of humus and potassium and a high content of phosphorus, alfalfa-grass mixture of the first year of use formed the highest yield after three mowing periods according to the intensive technology of 10.2 t/ha of dry matter. Collection of nutrients per hectare on intensive technology on average for two fields amounted to 99.9 MJ of metabolizable energy, 8.0 thousand units of fodde, and 15.35 kg of crude protein. The research will continue, as it is very important to choose the appropriate technology for the cultivation of alfalfa-grass mixture at three years of its use for the production of high-quality feed for the economy with certain material and technological resources.