Bird's-foot trefoil (Dactylis glomerata L.) – a perennial grass widely used as a fodder crop and turf material. The culture is characterized by a semi-decomposing medium-density bush: stems are upright, rounded, hairless, and reach heights from 30 to 130 cm. Leaves are lanceolate, light green in color, with an elongated and pointed tip, ensuring high biomass and good nutritional value.
The «Birskaia 1» variety is distinguished by high yield: the average mass of green matter over two cuts reaches 50–60 centners per hectare, and up to 100 c/ha with irrigation. Hay harvested at the beginning of flowering contains about 54% fodder units and 4.3 kg of digestible protein per 100 kg. The plant begins growth early in spring, allowing for two to three cuts per season. It withstands grazing well, but may suffer from low drought tolerance under excessive moisture.
The fodder properties of bird's-foot trefoil make it a valuable source of protein and carotene: 1 kg of feed contains 1 to 4 mg of carotene. The plant is easily consumed by cattle, horses, and other types of livestock. Moreover, bird's-foot trefoil is widely used for creating lawns due to its dense structure and resistance to lodging. The «Birskaia 1» variety was developed within the breeding works of the Republican Research Institute of Agricultural Crops (RB) and is recognized as suitable for wide application in northern forest-steppe, northeastern forest-steppe, and mountain-forest zones.
Thus, «Birskaia 1» represents a high-yielding, nutritious, and resilient to adverse conditions fodder variety, suitable for both hay production and pasture and lawn improvement.
