BIOLOGICAL FEATURES OF FRUIT FORMATION AND CROP FORMATION SEEDS OF BIRDSFOOT TREFOIL (Lotus corniculatus L.)

The limited use of birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.) in feed production is determined by a large shortage of its seeds. Currently, the supply of certified seeds on the commercial market is about ten times less than the scientifically based volume of the need for the seed material of this crop. The biological feature of the birdsfoot trefoil is the continuous shoot formation and growth during the entire growing season, the extended flowering period. This makes it difficult to determine the optimal timing and methods of harvesting seed stands. Harvesting is associated with large crop losses due to uneven ripening of beans and their strong cracking in hot weather with low relative humidity. The abundance of a large number of green shoots increases the humidity of the grass stand. This is very difficult to thresh and require desiccation. The choice of optimal time and method of threshing is the most difficult stage technology seed production of birdsfoot trefoil. Studies have shown that when 69–93% of the beans were browned, the biological yield reached its maximum values of 308–320 kg/ha. This period in typical weather conditions occurred 35–50 days after the beginning of flowering. During this period, the filling of seeds stopped. Crop performance has reached the standard values. The optimal period of direct threshing with pre-desiccation of the herbage, which provided the highest actual seed collection of 191–206 kg/ha, is the period of browning about 70% of the beans.