Development of a Model, Selection and Evaluation of the Source Material for the Plant Breeding of Alfalfa Varieties with Increased Seed Productivity

The article presents the results of laboratory and field experiments on the source material of alfalfa in the conditions of Northern Kazakhstan. The purpose of the present research was to study and evaluate the selective value of alfalfa variety populations, as well as to isolate a new source material for creating alfalfa varieties with high seed yields. The experiments were conducted in 2018-2020 in the Kokshetau Experimental Production Farm LLP (Changing village, Zerendinsky District, Akmola Region), located in the steppe zone of Northern Kazakhstan. As a result of research on alfalfa culture, the study of morphological and economically valuable features of an extensive gene pool, the trends in the plant breeding development and production requests, an improved model of a new type of alfalfa varieties with high seed yield was compiled. The following main parameters of the model are experimentally justified: Seed yield, the duration of the blossom time, the shape of the bush, resistance to pests (Tychicus-seed weevil), overgrowth, bushiness, shedding (flowers, beans), bean setting capacity and self-fertility, which predetermine the high seed productivity of plants. According to the results of the experiments, promising samples were identified based on the severity of individual traits and their combination for inclusion in the plant breeding program of hybridization and polycross.