2.2014

УДК: 631/633.15:63:061.6

The main results of the scientific research undertaken in 2011-2013 are summarized; the issues of organizing and improving the efficiency of the studies in forage producti on of the Russian Federation are considered. The total number of research and technical developments points at the high intellectual potential of the coordination network in forage production, as well as at the possibility of solving the burning problems at a top methodical and scientific level. The analysis conducted proved the high efficacy of this form of research engineering. Applying the scientific development allows minimizing the losses of nutrients in the laid-in forages to 5–10 %, to increase the legume grasses seed productivity from 0.15–0.20 to 0.30–0.50 tons ha-1, and that of gramineous grasses from 0.30–0.40 to 0.70–0.80 tons ha-1. It also raised the yields per 1 hectare of fodder crops’ from 1.2 to 3.0 tons; the seminatural grasslands gave 1.5–3.0 instead of 0.5–0.7 tons, and culti vated pastures produced с до 5.0–8.0 tons of fodder units instead of 2.0–3.0 tons. Through all the regions of Russia special attention should be paid to analyzing the natural climatic conditions, landscape peculiarities, soil properties and vegetati on, regional and local climate changes, and elaborati on of measures for opti mizing the species and cultivar cropping systems. It is necessary to draft rational proposals on the economically efficient zonati on of the main fodder crops and the semi-natural and cultivated grasslands, as well as on their rational use in the changing climate. To assign the set tasks a streamlined system of cooperati on and coordination in forage producti on is essential.

Keywords: forage production, coordinati on, scientific research, management, innovati ons, efficiency.

УДК: 631.86.232.322.4

High efficiency of joint application of organic and mineral ferti lizers is proved for a six-field forage crop rotation on sod-podzolic soils. The scientific experiments conducted in the Komi Republic have shown that the highest forage crops’ productivity is guaranteed by applying 80 t ha-1 of peat-manure compost and NPK. High economic efficiency was also marked at joint ferti lizati on: net operating profit reached 96 thousand rubles per 1 hectare, and the profitability varied from 157 to 173 %. The experiments have shown that forage quality is considerably improved after applying higher fertilization rates. The best results were marked when combining organic and mineral fertilizers. Crude protein content increased up to 14.4 % (10.2 % in the check variant), and crude fat content reached 4.3 % (2.6 % in the check variant). In particular the positive effect was achieved with by simultaneous application of the fertilizers on potatoe: starch content of the tubers increased up to 16.8 %, that is 3.4 % higher than the result obtained at the check variant.

Keywords: ferti lizers, crop rotati on, producti vity, quality, income.

УДК: 633.14:633.254:633.1

Favourable natural climatic conditions of the Non-Chernozem zone facilitate a possibly long vegetation period. After harvesting grains and other early maturing crops the fields stay unoccupied for two months and more. A more efficient practice on arable lands necessitate using the spare place for growing the catch crops in order to increase the utilization coefficient of arable land 1.5-2 ti mes, as well as to enhance forage producti on and improve their quality. In the Perm’ region winter rye is mostly used as a catch crop, and there is a growing interest for winter triti cale in the local farms. In 2011-2012 we established an experiment on the research fi elds of Perm’ SAA, aiming for a comparative analysis of the producti vity of both crops on the sod-podzolic soils of the Middle Cis-Ural region. The influence of two factors was assessed: the species and the type of intercropping — underseeding for green mass, postcut forage crop for the same purpose, postcut use for grain haylage, and stubble crop for grain. It is found for two years on average that winter triticale exceeds winter rye in productivity: it gave 3.86 t ha-1 dry matter, which is significantly 1.18 less than winter triticale. At the same ti me growing for grain haylage was the most eligible type of use for both crops: in this case winter rye productivity reached 5.72 t ha-1, and winter triticale gave 6.95 t ha-1, calculated as dry matter. The largest amounts of fodder units were collected as grain haylage or grain as well. The sheaf analysis showed that triticale is leafier than rye. Yield increase of winter triticale is provided by shifting spike productivity.

Keywords: winter triticale, winter rye, catch crop, utilizati on coefficient of arable land, productivity.

УДК: 633.2:631.524.022 (5

Climate change necessitates cultivating of more adapti ve crops. The vegetation period in the Far East is gradually drawing out as a result of the increase in the average annual temperature. At the same time the annual precipitation and acti ve radiation income is being reduced. Due to the lower atmosphere transparency the plants’ mechanical tissues loose strength and the photosynthetic indices are altered. In this regard the Primorye Research Institute for Agriculture has revived the breeding of perennial grasses since 2011. The samples of timothy and cocks’- foot were est mated in the collection nurseries by their winter-hardiness, productivity and disease-resistance indices. The forage productivity of timothy was assessed in the heading stage. Winter weather conditions in the years of record allowed estimating the samples’ winter-hardiness. The samples of the European, Far East and American ecological and geographical groups were assessed in the collecti on nurseries. The local timothy variety ‘Primorskaya mestnaya’ and cock’s-foot ‘Morshanskaya 143’ were taken as check variants. Cocks’-foot has low winter-hardiness; its seeds were obtained only from one sample of Siberian ecological group. As a result of studying the collection promising samples were selected for primary grass breeding for higher adaptability to the changed soil and climatic conditions of the Primorye Territory.

Keywords: timothy, cock’s-foot, sample, productivity.

УДК: 633.311

In the grassland-based fodder production of the Central Region of the Non-Chernozem Zone of Russia the most widely used among the medicago genotypes is variable alfalfa being a hybrid between the purple and the yellow ones. It has gained its vast area of cultivation due to the high productivity combined with multiple resistances to the unfavourable abiotic conditions specified by the peculiarities of the natural climatic zones. At the same time purple alfalfa is preferably used in the countries of America and Europe. As during the last two decades large amounts of alfalfa seeds from foreign breeders come onto Russian market, it is necessary to assess the competitiveness of these plants compared to the local breeding developments. Since 2008 in the field experiment was conducted on territory of RSAU – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy to compare the productivity and sustainability of 4 Russian varieties (‘Vega 87’, ‘Nakhodka’, ‘Pastbishchnaya 88’, and ‘Selena’) and 4 Dutch ones (‘Alexis’, ‘Alpha’, ‘Derby’, and ‘Kadrina’). Despite the extremely drought conditions of 2010 and 2011, and natural plant destructi on due to their senescence, alfalfa’s share in the yield was evenly high and varied from 83.1 to 99.1 %. Phytocenoses of all the alfalfa varieties successfully resisted weed invasions: even on the 6th year of herbages’ life the share of the unsown species did not exceed 4.4–16.9 % dependent on the season, common dandelion dominating among them. It is found that alfalfa varieties of both Russian and Dutch breeding during five years of usage on cultured sod-podzolic soil, form sustainable swards with dry matter productivity of 6.44–6.9 tons ha-1. During the whole period of the studies all of them provided feeds of high quality. Alfalfa green mass showed high content of crude protein — 21.5–24.9 %, in the first and the second harvests likewise. Exchange energy concentrati on varied between 9.1–11.0 MJ. No significant differences between the varieties were found.

Keywords: alfalfa varieti es, herbage density, productivity, forage quality.

УДК: 633.31/.37

Formation of high seed productivity of hybrid alfalfa on the calcareous soils is necessary for restoring the productivity of sloping lands of the southern part of Central Russian Upland. The seed yield was increased in the posterity of hybrid alfalfa competing with grasses, as well as seed quantity per one productive shoot and an increase of seed hardness was observed together with lower 1000 seeds’ weight and their smaller size.

Keywords: hybrid alfalfa, calcareous soils, sustainability, seed productivity, seed hardness.

УДК: 57.085.23

Extending the crop species range is one of the important focus areas of contemporary agriculture. The promising object for the search of new species and forms for introduction and breeding are perennial legumes. These include the representatives of the Astragalus genus, Astragalus adsurgens Pall. in particular. This is a perennial herbaceous plant found in many regions of the Russian Federation and abroad. The object of this study was the seeds of Astragalus adsurgens Pall. collected in Mongolia. They were surface-sterilized with a 0.1 % mercury bichloride soluti on and cultivated on hormone-free Murashige and Skoog medium. The research has shown that the studies seeds had a 100 % germinating capacity. Seed germination and radicle development were already observed on the 3rd day, and a well-developed seedling was formed in 2 weeks. Further research concerned the influence of the hormonal composition of the medium (cytokinin BAP concentration varying from 1 to 3 mg l-1) on the morphogenetic potential of the apical buds isolated from the 21-day-old sterile explants of Astragalus adsurgens Pall. The experimens proved that the content of 2 and 3 mg l-1 BAP in the medium led to multiple small microshoot formation that perished after the passage in 48 % cases. When using BAP concentration of 1 mg l-1 the formed shoots gave new well-developed ones after passages and micrograftage. Moreover, in this variant formation of 3–5 additional adventive buds’ was observedin the microshoots’ basal part. The experiment showed that in case of using 1 mg l-1 BAP and 0.5 mg l-1 IAA the multiplicati on factor ranged from 9 to 14 plants per one explant per passage. Therefore the conditions for cultivating Astragalus adsurgens Pall. seeds and isolated apical meristems on the first stage of microclonal propagation were selected, as well as for the further in vitro propagation.

Keywords: Astragalus adsurgens Pall., morphogenesis, micropropagation, adventure buds, isolated explants, in vitro.

УДК: 633.2.031/.3

Dairy animal farming is a leading branch of Karelian agriculture. During 2007–2013 the livestock population has decreased with the producti vity growth from 5.228 to 6.466 tons of milk per cow, mostly because of the increased share of concentrates in the ratios. Meanwhile the energy and nutritious value of the main local fodders was declining and did not meet the diet norms. Perennial legume-grass swards occupy only 8 % of the cuttng areas which is 2.3 thousand hectares, for optimizing the structure it is recommended to increase their share up to 60 % on average. More than 50 % soils of the Republic are peaty and possessing a naturally raised fertility. Unique in their thermal and moisture regime the peaty soils of Karelia are the best suitable for smooth brome, reed canary grass, meadow and tall fescues, timothy and bluegrass. Extending the productive longevity of the swards is made possible by including quitches that can be used as single-species stands and in mixes with timothy and eastern goat’s-rue in the field crop rotations and emergency fields, providing two cuts with the overall producti vity of 6.5- 7.0 tons DM ha-1. To increase the long-term productivity of legume-grass mixtures it is recommended to switch from clovers to variable alfalfa. Double and triple mixtures are dominant in the field-based forage production of Karelia; they include field pea, oats, common vetch and spring barley. Common vetch and oil radish are found competitive. It is advisable to implement express old perennial grassland renovation on the farms of the Republic as well as to diversify the assortment of perennial grasses and legumes. The optimal 25:35:40 rati o of early, intermediate and late ripening crop should be kept in the green conveyor, and the requirements of modern technologies of grass culti vation and harvesting have to be met.

Keywords: field-based forage production, perennial grasses, annual crops.

УДК: 633. 2/3

Sowing forage grasses in mixtures allows obtaining a more flexible ecosystem, thus insuring an increase of yield quantity and quality. An important condition of creating adaptable herbage mixtures is an accurate crop choice. The sustainability of the interspecies hybrid Festulolium was studied in two, three and four-compound herbage mixtures with a selection of legumes: red clover, variable alfalfa and bird’s-foot trefoil. The legume-grass mixtures exceeded its single-crop sowing in productivity significantly; the festulolium plants height was improved too. The most sustainable besides its single crops festulolium was found in the mixtures with clover and bird’s-foot trefoil; its share decreased to the second year of usage. The effect of the first cuttng time on forage productivity and quality was studied too. The plant biomass first cut at the beginning of festulolium heading and legumes’ budding had a higher protein and exchange energy content and less fibre. At the first cuttng festulolium at full ear formation and the legumes blooming, a higher productivity was noticed with an increase of the plants’ height which caused moderate lodging. The most even productivity through all the cuttng season is provided by the herbage mixtures with variable alfalfa.

Keywords: festulolium, red clover, birdʼs-foot trefoil, variable alfalfa, herbage mixtures, productivity, protein.

УДК: 633.2.03:631.331

The risk of full or partly reduction of sward productivity caused by inefficient seeding can be significantly mitigated by adequate choice of the method. Good seedlings’ establishment is a necessary requirement for creating productive perennial grasslands and pastures. To seed the forage lands as well as to overgrass hayfields and grazing lands various methods of broadcast seeding including the coulter-drilling are widely used. The most frequently used for broadcast seeding are the rotary broadcast disc seeders. The most cost-eff ective and robust seeders are those equipped with computer-aided control and low-power engine gear operating on 12 V on-board tractor or other mobile power system. The main advantages of the 12V-gear rotary broadcast seeders are their high performance, optional combination with different grassland management operations, and low cost. Broadcast seeders with the seeding tubes freely placed above the soil surface provide good uniformity of seed distribution across the sowing width in windy weather as well as in case of different seed density and size. This type of machinery allows precise controlling the seeding depth and firming the soil around them efficiently. The limitation is the lack of fertilization system, thus simultaneous application of phosphorus starter dose is impossible. Therefore using these seeders is ineffective on the low-phosphorus soils. This type of seeders compared to rotary broadcast ones is more expensive and less efficient. Surface broadcast seeding has several potential advantages compared to the traditional methods using coulter drills. They are the possibility of direct sowing into intact sod, lower labour and energy costs, minimal investments into machinery, and short period of sward recover. Choosing the optimal seeding equipment should always consider a complex of factors.

Keywords: sowing, forage lands, seeder, seeding rates, productivity.