The production of forage root crops is important in ensuring the livestock with succulent fodder. The feeding of animals with root vegetables in winter most closely approximates their diet to summer pasture. The nutritive value of the fodder beet occupies the main place among the fodder root crops because of providing the diet of animals with large amounts of easily digestible food, significantly affecting cow milk yield, and readily eaten by all kinds of animals. From the agronomy point of view it drains less the upper soil layers and sets it free from weeds.

The experimental studies were conducted during 2010-2013 years on the experimental field of Podilsky State Agrarian Technical University.

Beet fodder sowing was held on April 15-18, wide-row method with aisle 45 with the investigated varieties: Kievskiy (control), Galickiy, Dniester, Adra, and hybrids Krakus, Solidar, Kasper. The total area of the plot was 45,0 m², accounting 25,2 m².

Morphological features of plants with economic quality products are characterized by the efficiency of cultivation and evaluation of varieties and hybrids of sugar beet fodder. Morphological features of beet fodder are determined by the shape, mass, depth of the roots in the soil. Most of these root indicators are important for mechanized cultivation and harvesting process.

Analyzing morphological features of beet fodder in technical ripeness it can be concluded that the investigated varieties and hybrids had different roots. So, the Kiev variety (controlled) roots was characterized by a cylindrical-oval shape, the Galician variety – oval-cylindrical, the Dniester variety– cylindrical-conical, the Adra variety and hybrids Krakus – cylindrical, Solidarity – cylindrical-conical and Casper – accepted.

An important indicator, which will further affect the yield is the average weight of roots, which in varieties and hybrids varies in spite of the form of root. The varieties of Adra – 718 g, Kievskiy – 706 g, and hybrids Kasper – 699 g, Krakus – 694g are with high root mass. The lowest root weight was typical for the variety of Dniester – 639 g and hybrid Solidar – 658 g.

One of the elements of plant productivity is the number of leaves that depends on the elements of cultivation technology, especially of the variety, hybrid. The average number of leaves in the phase of closing rows with different cultivars were in the range from 14,1 to 16,3 pieces, hybrids - from 13,5 to 16,9 pieces and they could vary depending on climatic conditions in the years of research.

The important element in the structure of crop fodder beet is a root weight in the phase of technical maturity, which was different depending on the varieties and hybrids. The study found the given varieties had the following indicators: Kievskiy – 706 g and Adra – 718 g and hybrids Kasper – 699 g and Kraku – 694 g. The root weight in the phase of technical maturity affects the yield of beet fodder.

So, investigated varieties of fodder beet were characterized by high yield of root crops. On average over four years of research the highest indicator was in the variety Adra – 64,6 t/ha and the hybrid Krakus – 62,4 t/ha whereas the Galickiy variety yield 58,2 t/ha, Dniester – 57,4 t/ha, in comparison with lower indicator of the controlled variant, the variety Kiev – 5,5 t/ha and 6,3 t/ha. Among the hybrids of sugar beet fodder the highest yield was obtained from the hybrid Krakus – 62,4 t/ha, in comparison with the controlled variant (sort of Kiev) 1,4 t/ha below. The hybrids Solidarity and Kasper yield 59,2 t/ha and 60,2 t/ha, which is also lower than the controlled version 4,5 t/ha to 3,5 t/ha, respectively.

Key words: beet, variety, hybrid, morphological characteristics, root, yield.