OPLEMENJIVANJE VIŠEGODIŠNJIH TRAVA - METODE, KRITERIJUMI I REZULTATI U SRBIJI.

Perennial grasses represent basis of sustainable livestock breeding and livestock feed production, it is main food for ruminants in the regions with moderate climate, as component of natural and sown pastures and meadows that can be used as pasture, cutting, haylage and silage. The most important species for livestock feed are cocksfoot, perennial ryegrass, meadow fescue, tall fescue, Italian ryegrass, tall oatgrass, red fescue and smooth browengrass. Considering that the effect of the genotype, i.e. cultivar, on the yield is 50% and more, breeding of perennial grasses is in the focus of attention. The most important prerequisite for breeding is that the initial material has sufficient amount of genetic variability. Main traits of perennial grasses which are the centre of selection are yield and quality of dry matter, time of maturation, persistency and tolerance to drought, and seed yield. The most successful methods of breeding of perennial grasses is phenotypic recurrent selection, modified in order to shorten the selection cycle it self and reduce undesirable crossings, monitoring polycross using the method of crossing and forming of synthetic cultivar. As a result of long breeding work in domestic scientific institutions, 19 forage and one park cultivar of perennial grasses have been acknowledged and included into cultivar list. In future breeding work, special attention must be directed to introduction of new modern breeding methods and increase of number of species of perennial grasses included into breeding programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]