Comparative Evaluation of Medicago varia Mart. Varieties in Single-Species and Alfalfa-Timothy Agrophytocenosis of Karelia

The cultivation of Medicago varia Mart., which helps to increase the quantity and quality of harvested voluminous feed, in northern conditions is limited by a number of factors: a short growing season, uneven precipitation, increased soil acidity, etc. The result of breeding work was varieties of alfalfa varia, capable of providing sustainable forage yield and high productive longevity. The article presents the results of a comparative study of single-species crops of alfalfa varieties Pastbishchnaya 88 and Agnia, as well as their phytocenoses with timothy grass (Phleum pratense L.) variety Olonetskaya local in the conditions of the Republic of Karelia. According to average long-term data, single-species sowing of the Agnia variety exceeds the dry mass yield of the control variant by 1.7 t/ha, in a grass mixture with timothy – 0.8 t/ha.