FORMATION AND FOOD VALUE OF HYBRID POPULATIONS OF MEADOW CLOVER

The research was conducted in 2022-2024. The Republic of North Ossetia – Alania. Complex hybrid populations were formed, and the collection samples of clover were evaluated according to a set of economically valuable traits for creating varieties for fodder purposes. The basis for the study were promising plants that were sown in a wide range and individually in a row. Weak and underdeveloped plants were mowed down by negative selection. During the budding period and the beginning of flowering, the accounting of economically valuable signs was carried out. The carotene content in meadow clover plants is highly dependent on meteorological conditions. For example, in the favorable year 2023, the carotene content in the late-maturing synthetic population reached 720.6 mg per kg of absolutely dry matter, while the average maturing population reached 541.5 mg/kg. The hybrid late-maturing, early-maturing, and tetraploid controls had 423.2, 407.0, and 672.6 mg/kg, respectively. The seeding of inflorescences of synthetic populations in Syn-1 - Syn-2- was 43.0-51.2%, and diploid controls 68.7-83.8%. The tetraploid variety was characterized by a slightly lower number of inflorescences - 43.0-48.9%. Synthetic populations were also characterized by higher seed productivity than controls and initial components. Thus, the weight of seeds from one plant in the initial samples is 3.3-3.6 g, and in the created synthetic populations - 7.0-11.5 g (1 g. p.), which is almost 2-3 times more than the productivity of the initial components. Synthetic populations mostly exceeded diploid controls and the tetraploid variety in terms of seed weight per plant. According to the yield of green mass in total for 2 years of use (2023-2024), synthetic populations exceeded diploid controls by 23.1-42.8%. The late-maturing and middle-maturing populations exceeded the tetraploid control by 7.8-14.8%. In terms of hay yield, these populations exceeded diploid controls by 15.0-37.0% and tetraploid controls by 10.2-22.1%.