RESULTS OF AUTUMN TOP CUTTING OF FESTULOLIUM GRASS STAND WITH RYEGRASS MORPHOTYPE
Novel crop. Festulolium. is a hybrid of Festucа spp. and Lolium spp. Hybrids combine traits of both parents. Different varieties resemble morphologically either ryegrass or fescue. Compared to original parental forms - meadow and tall fescues and pe­rennial and Australian ryegrasses — festulolium hybrids show new biological and economically important traits, requiring de­velopment of specific technique for seed production. In the first year of life, plants of Festulolium and bushes grow vigorously during the entire summer period, forming a continuous closed sward height of 30 cm and density of shoots of more than 3.6 thousand pieces/m2. The accumulation of excessive vegetative mass leads to a deterioration of wintering conditions and the death of 37-39 % of the shoots. Autumn mowing of crops improves the conditions of overwintering and enhance the safety of sprouts at 14-17 %. The choice of duration of this application depends on the method of sowing of Festulolium. The optimum term of removal of the vegetative mass in the first year of life in the soil cultivating sowing method, and in the second year of life is the second week of September. When uncoated ranelate method of sowing of Festulolium best time of rejection of the vegetative mass is between 15 to 30 September. The fall mowing of the grass at the optimal time increases the number of generative shoots from 8-11% to 44% and seed yield of Festulolium of the first year of use of 9-11 to 24-27 %, second year by 17-25 %.