Breeding of birdsfoot trefoil
(Lotus corniculatus L.)
Birdsfoot trefoil is one of the most valuable leguminous component of pastures, it is a frequent species in natural grasslands. Its ecological adaptability is better than that of alfalfa. It tolerates chewing, compression, it does not cause bloating when used for grazing, its nutritional characteristics are excellent. It is suitable for the improvement of degraded pastures through secondary sowing and for increasing the nutritional values of the forage volume. Its seed collection requires expertise.
The variety of the Insitute, “Szabolcsi 1” is the only actively maintained and propagated variety in Hungary. In the course of variety maintenance, our task is to preserve the excellent adaptability and high green volume of the variety.
The objective of our breeding work is to the produce new varieties with good drought tolerance, high green volume, proper grain yield and rich protein content. The result of our breeding is high green volume, high grain yield, early and homogenously flowering variety candidate, announced in 2013.