SWARD FORMATION IN VARIEGATED ALFALFA UPON SEED INOCULATION WITH ROOT-NODULE BACTERIA SINORHIZOBIUM MELILOTI IN KARELIA

Abstract

A key development track for fodder and forage production today is to biologize the processes. Accordingly, much attention is being given to varietal-microbial systems, whose performance is in direct correlation with the plant community’s yield and nutritive value and the efficiency of nitrogen fixation from the atmosphere. The range of forage crops in Karelia is rather narrow and a crop drawing much interest is variegated alfalfa, which boasts high yields and productive longevity combined with drought- and frost hardiness. However, as the soils lack native strains of root-nodule bacteria capable of interacting productively with this legume, seeds have to be inoculated prior to sowing. In 2022-2024, the Vilga Agrotechnology Laboratory conducted field studies of sward formation in variegated alfalfa of the following varieties: Pastbishchnaya 88, Taisiya, Agniya VIK, and Lyusya upon inoculation with several strains of root-nodule bacteria S. meliloti (master seed strain 415 (control), А-1, А-5, and SKhM-1-105) to determine the inoculation effects on plant community formation and to select the varietal-microbial systems best suited for the region. The studies have demonstrated that inoculation has a tangible effect on herbage formation and that in southern parts of Karelia variegated alfalfa can form robust communities with an average yield of up to 8.8 t/ha dry weight in pure crops. The highest productivity in Karelia was exhibited by combinations of the Agniya VIK and Lyusya varieties with the А-1 and SKhM-1-105 strains.