8.2014

УДК: 633.31/37:633.3.31:6

The methods for establishing swards with bastard alfalfa (Medicago sativa nothosubsp. varia) were studied on sod-podzolic soils; the peculiarities of yield formation in single-species and mixed crops were noted. The customary structure of grassland management with gramineous species dominating leads to higher levels of chemicals’ application, nitrogen fertilization first of all. The prevailing legume component of the most widely used mixtures red clover’s productive longevity does not exceed 2–3 years. However the new type alfalfa cultivars like ‘Selena’, ‘Pastbischnaya 88’ and ‘Vega 87’ and other varieties resistant to acid soils that were recently bred in the All-Russian Williams Fodder Research Institute are known to stay for a considerably longer period of 7–8 years. The mixtures consisting of two legume species or two legumes with a grass are more weed-resistant. They provide a more even filling of the sward through the years and months of the vegetation period due to the differences in the species- specific architecture of every compound of the mixture. The long-term experiment with ‘Vega 87’ alfalfa cultivar took place on moderately cultivated soils of the Ivanovo region. It is found that to create highly-productive swards for durable usage it is necessary to include bastard alfalfa along with red clover (Trifolium pratense) and timothy (Phleum pratense). The component ratio should be as follows: 25 % alfalfa, 25 % clover and 50 % timothy (percentage of full seeding rate). In this case, during the first two years the yield is mostly formed by clover, and further on it is wholly provided by alfalfa. Such mixtures provide abundant yields of high-quality feed, well balanced in digestible protein, without additional expenses on nitrogen fertilization.

Keywords: bastard alfalfa, single-species and mixed stands, component ratio in the grass mixture, productivity and nutritive value.

УДК: 631.4; 551.3; 631.61

The article deals with the effect of the anthropogenic factors on the erosion processes and the condition of the pastoral swards in the mountainous conditions. The changes of natural grasslands under different grazing regimes are shown together with admissible load levels.

Keywords: botanical composition, sward density, root system, erosion, water runoff, soil loss, grazing regime, grassland productivity.

УДК: 581.5:633.2.03:504.5

The land resources exposed to environmental stress as a result of the technogenic catastrophes can be recovered for anthropogenic activities at certain distance of time. One of the worst accidents in the former Soviet Union during the past tens of years is the Chernobyl catastrophe on the nuclear power plant. It was also the reason of the radioactive environment pollution in the Gomel region of the Republic of Belarus. A quarter of a century past, new investigations took place in the basin of the river Soj in the Checherskiy rayon of the Gomel region. The agrochemical soil conditions of the floodplain and sown grasslands were studied as well as the zootechnical analysis of the obtained fodders. Cs-137 specific activity and heavy metals content in the soils and fodders were estimated. The specific activity of Cs-137 in hay did not reach 1300 Bq kg-1. This indicates the obtained fodders’ suitability for livestock feeding. However it is recommended to run the radioactivity checking of the fodders to ensure human and livestock safety.

Keywords: grassland ecosystem, soils, agrichemical properties, zootechnical analysis, heavy metals, specific activity.

УДК: 633. 358:631. 559; 6

The influence of plant protection agents and “Albit” preparation on pea grain yield and quality is studied. The experiments showed that top dressing has the best effect when performed on sprouting and budding plants as well as at the fruiting stage. The maximum pea grain yield in the variants was 3.85 tons ha-1. It is found that pesticides and growth stimulator did not enhance plant germination, however they increase seed mass. Maximal crude protein, crude fiber and calcium content was marked as a result of topdressing the sprouting plants; and the maximal crude fat content was observed at the stage of bean formation on the plots without pesticide treatments. Minimum crude ash content in pea grain was recorded under triple treatment with the growth stimulator during bud formation.

Keywords: pea, crop protection agents, “Albit”, grain yield, 1000 seeds’ weight, seed germination ability, chemical composition of grain.

УДК: 631.415-1:631.821:63

Acid soils have an unfavourable consequence on the productivity of forage grasses; they reduce the effect of mineral fertilization and enhance heavy metals and radionuclides accumulation in the plants. Liming is one of the methods to control soil acidity that is nevertheless used more and more seldom even in the Non-Chernozem zone. In 2005-2012 we conducted a field experiment which revealed the positive effect of lime-containing minerals (conversion calcium carbonate and dolomite powder) on the productivity of several forage crops, and under mineral fertilization as well. Clover/timothy mixtures, oats and field pea/oats mixture were studied on sod-podzolic slightly deroded clay loam under alternative treatments. The variants included separate application of the ameliorants, half of the normal rate treatment with both substances, topdressing with PK, and combinations of the fertilizers with both ameliorants together and separately. The results and their regression analysis have shown the existence of a positively beneficial effect of the lime-containing materials on the forage crop yields. As for the variants with ameliorants application only, conversion calcium carbonate performed the best during the first four years of research. Dolomite powder showed its advantages in the later period. The efficacy of mineral fertilization was dependent on the crop and weather conditions of the current year but it did not usually exceed the consequences of chemical amelioration alone. The highest yield increments were recorded after combined liming materials and PK fertilizers application.

Keywords: liming, chemical ameliorants, conversion calcium carbonate, dolomite powder, forage grasses productivity, red clover, acid soils.

УДК: 633.34:631.53.01:577

Increasing the pulse crops production is closely linked to solving the problem of protein deficit in animal husbandry. Being a valuable protein and oil crop, soybean (Glycine max) plays a special role in forage production. After thermic destruction of the inhibitors of proteases, its protein is 86–95 % digestible. In 2012-2013 the protein content and yield of six soybean cultivars were assessed in the field trial on the experimental ground of Michurinsk State Agrarian University. The Russian cultivars were represented by ‘Lantsetnaya’, ‘Soyer 5’ and ‘Belgorodskaya 48’; the foreign ones were ‘Merlin’, ‘Tanais’ and ‘Horol’. Special attention was paid to the cultivation technology. It was found that the cultivar ‘Lantsetnaya’ however rich in protein provided its smallest outcome of 0.55 tons ha-1 due to the low overall productivity. The soybean cultivar ‘Belgorodskaya 48’ was the most high-yielding giving 2.22 tons ha-1 grain with sufficiently high protein content. However the highest protein yield was recorded for the Canadian cultivar ‘Horol’, its grain contained 35.28 % protein. The Austrian cultivar ‘Merlin’ showed the lowest protein content ― 30.88 %. The mentioned values differed insignificantly in the other cultivars tested.

Keywords: cultivar, protein, grain, soybean, breeding.

УДК: 633.3.313:631.526.32

The key factor of the fodder crops yield increase is introducing new cultivars which meet the contemporary requirements of intensive production. Field experiments on estimating the seed and fodder productivity of alfalfa as a result of the varietal features, weather conditions and sward age, were conducted on the trial ground of the Udmurtian Research Institute of Agriculture. In the first year of use the varieties provided the seed yields of 159–328 kg ha-1, the reference specimen ‘Sarga’ giving 300 kg ha-1. Despite drought conditions in the second year of use the productivity reached 366–550 kg ha-1. High seed productivity was recorded for the varieties ‘Guzel’, ‘Muslima’, ‘Chishminskaya 131’, ‘Tatarskaya pastbischnaya’ and ‘Uralochka’. They exceeded the reference variant by 102–173 kg ha-1. The green mass productivity of the hay type varieties amounted 44.3–53.6 tons ha-1, during the first year of use, and dry matter yield was 11.1–13.8 tons ha-1, the reference variety ‘Sarga’ being the most productive. The mixed type varieties for both cutting and grazing have formed 36.5–54.5 tons ha-1 of green mass and 10.0–14.3 tons ha-1 of dry matter. Dry matter yields were found to decrease in the second year of use. The highest feed yields were provided by ‘Chishminskaya 131’, ‘Guzel’ and ‘Tatarskaya pastbischnaya’ varieties in the dry summer of 2013 and during the two years on average.

Keywords: bastard alfalfa, variety, productivity, feed quality.

УДК: 633.16.162:631.52

The main aim of the studies was to detect new parent material for spring barley breeding for productivity and early ripeness in the conditions of the European North of Russia. For this purpose the Federal State Unitary Enterprize «Kotlasskoye» studied 60 early maturing spring barley cultivars from the collection of N. I. Vavilov Research Institute of Plant Industry. As a result of the study, a number of early ripening cultivars with high grain productivity were found. The vegetation period duration being 72–73 days, the cultivars ‘Knistaps’ and ‘Kolizey’ provided 300–344 grams yield per m2 which is 6–20 % more than that of the reference specimen. High 1000 grains mass (over 57 g) was marked in the cultivars ‘Sonet’, ‘Rodnik Prikamya’, ‘Omskiy 96’ and ‘Luka’. The cultivars ‘Zernogradskiy’, ‘Gid’, and ‘Sobolek’ were found to be resistant to barley net blotch.

Keywords: spring barley, specimen, early ripeness, productivity.

УДК: 631/635; 633.2; 502/

The 5th edition of “Guidebook on Forage Production” came off the press, revised and enlarged. The new book is aimed at the scientists and specialists in agriculture, environmental management and conservation, for biologists, ecologists, geographers, teachers and tertiary students.

Keywords: forage production, animal husbandry, crop production, arable farming, agricultural landscapes, environmental management, ecology.