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Description of the subject. Red clover is an important forage legume and a rich source of high quality forage for livestock feed. This study assesses a diverse red clover collection for agronomic value, forage quality and antioxidant activity in relation to status (cultivar vs natural population) and ploidy level (diploid or tetraploid) for the purpose of diversity study and for identification of potential heterotic groups and classification of accessions according to the results of analyses. Objectives. The aims of this research were to: i) explore agronomic traits, forage quality, and antioxidant activity in relation to status and ploidy level; ii) assess trait associations and the possibility of indirect selection; iii) cluster red clover accessions with regard to forage quality and antioxidant activity. Method. Red clover was represented by 46 accessions, the cultivars and natural populations of diploid (2n) and tetraploid (4n) ploidy levels from 17 countries, which were collected and preserved in the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops in Novi Sad, Serbia. The following traits were determined from the two-year field trial at Rimski Šančevi, Serbia: plant height (PH), internodes number (IN), green mass yield (GMY), dry matter yield (DMY), crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), digestible dry matter (DDM), dry matter intake (DMI), relative feed value (RFV) and antioxidant activity. All accessions were characterized in the second cut of the second year of life when 20-25% of flowers appeared. Results. The cultivars had higher values for PH, IN, GMY, DMY, DDM, DMI, and RFV. The tetraploid accessions had higher values for IN, GMY, DMY, CP, NDF and DDM. The natural populations and diploid accessions had 39.9% and 21.9% smaller antioxidant capacity, respectively. The antioxidant capacity was positively associated with RFV, DDM, DMI, PH, IN, GMY and DMY, but negatively with ADF and NDF. Conclusions. The grouping of red clover accessions based on forage quality parameters and antioxidant activity was represented by five clusters. High-quality cultivars had a shorter length of internodes and a good leaf to stem ratio with a high leaf proportion.

This paper presents research of production possibilities of miscanthus (Mischantus × giganteus Greef et Deu) in agroecological conditions of Serbia. For that purpose, an experiment was set up in Srem on the site of Podunavlje village of Surduk. The soil on which the plantation was established in 2012 belongs to the type of carbonate chernozem on a loess plateau, at an altitude of 150 m. Stalk height in the panicle stage and yield of dry miscanthus stalks during five years, from 2015 to 2019, as well as the content of cellulose in dry stalks depending on agroecological conditions and variants of fertilization without top dressing and with spring top dressing of 30 kg ha1 of nitrogen fertilizer, were analysed. The highest recorded yield of dry stalks was in 2019 (34.525 kg ha1), and the lowest recorded yield was in the dry year of 2017 (17.980 kg ha1), both in the variant with top-dressing.

The phytic acid (PA), inorganic phosphorus (Pi), yellow pigment (YP), water soluble phenolics (WSPH) and free protein sulfhydryl groups (PSH) of 15 Triticum aestivum and 15 Triticum durum wheats grown at six different environments were evaluated for variability, intra- and inter- relations with agronomic traits. The most variable properties in bread wheat were YP and WSPH with coefficients of variation (CV) amounting to 14.59% and 14.10%, respectively, while in durum wheat those were PSH and YP with CV of 17.59% and 15.02%, respectively. PA in durum wheat showed the least variability (CV 3.61%). Among others, positive associations were obtained between WSPH and YP in bread and durum wheat, YP and PSH, WSPH and PSH, yield (YLD) and WSPH, YLD and PSH in durum wheat, while negative associations were recorded for PA and YP, PA and WSPH, YLD and antioxidants (YP and WSPH) in bread wheat, PA and antioxidants, PA and YLD in durum wheat.