EVALUATION OF COCK'S-FOOT (DACTYLIS GLOMERATA L.) GENETIC RESOURCES FOR BREEDING ACTIVITY

Abstract

The study of cock's-foot (Dactylis glomerata l.) is integrated into a broader international context, in which forage plant breeding aims not only to maximize production, but also to ensure an efficient and sustainable use of natural resources. Therefore, Dactylis glomerata is emerging as a reference model in breeding programs for perennial grasses, with direct implications for the competitiveness and resilience of contemporary agricultural systems. In our institute, the breeding objectives are to create varieties for complex grassland mixtures, aiming, in addition to increasing forage production, to improve the nutritional value of the forage, resistance to foliar diseases (rusts, leaf spot), competitiveness in mixtures, winter resistance, and perennially. The plant material used in this experiment was represented by 9 accessions –8 local population and one variety. Following the measurements and determinations (plant height, number of vegetative and generative tillers, length and width of the standard leaf, spike length, rust resistance etc.),we can more easily select parental forms of future varieties, depending on the current breeding objectives, the most important of which are adaptability and resistance to stress factors (drought, heavy rainfall, diseases etc.).