The study was conducted in a fi eld experiment laid down in 2017 at the experimental fi eld of
Northwestern Dairy Farming and Grassland Management Research Institute – detached unit of
Federal State Budget Institution of Science “Vologda Research Center of the Russian Academy
of Sciences” in accordance with the technique developed at the All-Russian Williams Fodder Research
Institute. The scheme of experience included 10 variants in three-fold repetition. The area
of the plot was 11 m2. The experiment studied cereal and legume-grass pasture phytocoenoses
that were created on the basis of the following species and varieties: festulolium Allegro, ryegrass
VIK 66, Leningradskaya 204 timothy, Sverdlovskaya 37 meadow fescue, SIBNIISKhOZ 189 awnless
brome, Limagi and Dar meadow grass, Dymkovsky red clover, Lugovik white clover. The goal
of the research is to study the impact of species and varieties of perennial grasses on the productivity,
nutritional value and botanical composition of pasture agrophytocenoses of the fi rst year
of use. Scientifi c novelty lies in the fact that rare species and new varieties of perennial grasses
(festulolium, ryegrass and meadow grass) used for the formation of pasture phytocenoses will be
studied for the fi rst time in the European North of the Russian Federation. Practical signifi cance
of the research consists in the fact that the production will be offered an effective technology for
creation of phytocenoses of pasture use on the basis of grass species. Among the studied pasture
phytocenoses in the fi rst year of use, according to productive indicators, a grass mixture was
distinguished, which includes two types of cereal grasses – festulolium and ryegrass (var. 6) and
grass mixtures with legumes (var. 7-10). Grass swards generated 10.7 t/ha of dry matter, cereal-
legume swards – 10.3–11.6 t/ha. Area of application includes agricultural enterprises of the
region. Research in this direction will be continued in the development of resource-saving technologies
for creation of highly productive agrophytocenoses of forage crops, harvesting high-quality
voluminous fodder in the European North of the Russian Federation
Keywords
yield, ryegrass, nutritional value, festulolium, bluegrass, pasture phytocenoses, botanical composition