STARTING MATERIAL TO CREATE FODDER MILLET VARIETIES

Abstract

 Cultivation of high-quality forage crops, among which millet takes a lead, is a pre-requisite for growth in green forage production for the livestock sector. However, despite the considerable economic importance as a forage crop, millet is little spread in Ukraine. First of all, this is associated with a limited assortment of forage varieties. Thoroughly investigated and well-adapted to the specific conditions starting material is a basis for creation of any variety, including a millet variety.

The article presents the research results on 26 forage millet accessions from a national collection of the Center of Plant Genetic Resources of Ukraine studied in the Eastern Forest-Steppe of Ukraine. The accessions are from 10 countries, which means a possibility to select valuable sources, regardless of their eco-geographical origin. The field investigations were carried out in the fields of the breeding crop rotation at the Plant Production Institute named after VYa Yuriev of NAAS in 2011-2013 and 2016. The weather conditions throughout the research period were contrasting in terms of moisture and temperature. The results showed a high inter-variety variation in the green mass yield - from 9.7 t/ha to 33.5 t/ha. The highest average yield of green mass of 33.5 t/ha was obtained in 2011, which was characterized by the optimum temperature mode and a large amount of precipitation during the “emergence – paniculation” period. The four-year average yield of reference variety Kharkivske Kormove was 23.4 t/ha. A significant positive correlation (r = 0.36) was found between the HTC during the first half of vegetation and the green mass yield in wet 2011 (HTC = 1.65), and a significant negative correlation (r = -0.24) - in arid 2013 (HTC = 0.68).

The research identified four sources of high yield of green mass - UC0200979 (24.8 t/ha), UC0201141 (28.6 t/ha), UC0201143 (29.5 t/ha) originating from China and an accession from Italy - UC0201033 (23.5 t/ha).

Twenty-six millet accessions were evaluated for the protein, ash and cellulose contents in the moisture- and temperature-contrasting years. The protein content in green mass, depending on the genotype, varied from 7.5% to 20.2%, with the variation coefficient of 12.1% - 17.8%. A significant negative correlation (r = -0.37) between the HTC during the “emergence – paniculation” period and the protein content in green mass was found in wet 2016. The ash content, depending on the genotype, varied from 5.4% to 12.9%. We discovered that the ash content in millet green mass remained almost unchanged, regardless of the climatic conditions (V = 13.5-13.9%). A significant negative correlation (r = -0.27) between the ash content and the HTC during the “emergence – paniculation” period was established for excessive moisture condition (HTC = 1.30). The cellulose content in millet accessions slightly varied (V = 7.6-9.5%), depending on the cultivation conditions. The cellulose content range, depending on the genotype, is significant - from 15.0 to 24.5%, indicating a wide diversity of the test material by this trait.

Cluster analysis of millet accessions distinguished four groups by protein, ash and cellulose contents in green mass. For breeding practice, accessions with high protein  (15.2%) and ash (9.7%) contents belonging to group 4 - Kormovoye 29 (Russia), Abakanskoye Kormovoye (Russia), L 04-2623 (Ukraine ), L 04-2784 (Ukraine), UC0201142 (China) – are of value.

Sources of high and stable green mass yield as well as accessions high protein and ash contents can be involved in breeding programs to create new forage millet varieties