Development and assessment of promising breeding material for white clover in the conditions of the Western region of Ukraine

Goal. To identify the best collection samples of white clover (Trifolium repens) based on economically valuable traits for use as a source of valuable breeding material in the development of new high-yielding varieties. Methods. Field methods were used to observe plant growth and development; measurement and weighing methods were used to conduct biometric measurements, structural analysis, and yield determination; and mathematical-statistical methods were used for mathematical processing of research results based on ana­lysis of variance using the Agrostat software. Results. The study was conducted at the experimental station of the Pre-Carpathian Scientific Research Department of the Institute of Agriculture of the Carpathian Region of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine during 2021–2024. Soil — a sod medium-podzolic surface-gleyed moderately acidic loam formed on deluvial deposits and drained by pottery drainage. The study material consisted of 25 collection samples of white clover of va­rious ecological and geographical origins, which were assessed using key agronomically valuable traits. All samples were divided into three maturity groups: early-maturing (5 samples), mid-matu­ring (9 samples), and late-maturing (11 samples). Plant height at the hay-maturity stage ranged from 20.0 to 30.5 cm, foliage height from 50.2 to 75.0 cm, green matter yield under hay production from 20.8 to 32.0 t/ ha, dry matter yield — 2.61–4.14 t/ha, number of flowers per head — 35–88, number of seeds per head — 69–196, weight of 1,000 seeds — 0.62–0.76 g, seed yield — 0.094–0.138 t/ha. The best specimens with high values for these traits were selected for further breeding work. Conclusions. Based on the results of the stu­dies, promising breeding material with high va­lues for valuable agronomic traits was obtained, which should be used in further breeding work to create new high-yielding varieties of white clover with different ways of use, maturity dates, and suitable for cultivation in the Western region of Ukraine.