Impact of planting timing on seed yields and productive longevity of eastern goat rue (Galega orientales Lam)

Eastern goat’s rue (Galega orientales Lam.) has a complex of economically useful features, which makes it a priority introduced fodder crop in different soil and climatic zones. The initial stages of ontogenesis determine the development of plants and the amount of seed yield of goat’s rue for the next year. In the first year, goat’s rue plants develop slowly, which requires its early sowing. It was found that the highest fullness of sprouts in the range of 50-61% was noted when goat’s rue was sown in the period from May 25 to June 5. Moisture conditions of vegetation seasons have a decisive influence on growth and development of plants in the year of sowing and their preservation during the overwintering period. The highest yield of seeds in the 1st year of using was when sowing goat’s rue from the beginning of May to the middle of the first decade of June which provided accumulation of the sum of effective air temperatures 1409,5-1125,00C and amount of precipitation within the range 373,9-335,7 mm from shoots to the end of vegetation in the year of sowing and 1208,30C with 274,9 mm of precipitation in the second year before harvesting. The highest seed yields in the range of 466-560 kg/ha yieldwere obtained from goat’s rue crops of May and June sowing dates. The influence of sowing dates on seed yields was evident during the first two years. In subsequent years, the value of seed yield is leveled.

Cultivation of Berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum) and Oats (Avena sativa) Fodder Crops by Using Biofertilizers and Biopesticide: An Experience from Farmers’ Field in Nadia District of West Bengal

Indiscriminate and unscientific application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, adversely affect the agricultural production system by damaging soil health, contaminating natural water bodies and ground water. As a result of prolonged use of excessive chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the yield of field crops are decreasing due to poor soil health and produced crops also adversely impact human health. For animal husbandry enterprise, fodder production is one of the major activities. Injudicious use of chemicals can reduce fodder production as well as productivity of livestock can also be reduced. Under these circumstances, demonstration of fodder berseem and oats cultivation by using biofertilizers and biopesticides were carried out in farmer’s field at three blocks of Nadia district of West Bengal, India. The study was conducted in the winter season of the year 2020-21; the selected farmers were trained and method demonstrations of fodder crop production were carried out. The demonstration results suggested that average yield of berseem fodder crop was 53.33±2.80 t ha-1 whereas oats fodder crop was 43.07±2.16 t ha-1. The BC ratio of fodder crop cultivation suggested that, by the cultivation of both fodder crops farmers got substantial economic return. Fodder produced by the using biofertilizers and biopesticide contain good amount of dry matter as well as crude protein. From the study it can be concluded that both the fodder crops can be grown in the farmers’ field of the study area by using the biofertilizers and biopesticide without deteriorating the fodder yield and fodder quality.

Enhancing Quality of Fodder Sorghum through Application of Fe Chelates

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Monech) is one of the important fodder crops for ruminants and it is a dual-purpose crop used as a food and fodder but one of the great limiting factors with the forage sorghum is that it is having an anti-nutritional factor cyanogen, which is extremely toxic to the animals feeding on them. The present experiment was conducted at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore to study the effect of iron on the quality of fodder crop. The experiment was laid in Factorial CRD with 3 factors namely seven sources of Iron (Fe glycinate citrate, Fe tartrate, Fe glutamate, FeSO4, Fe-EDDHA, Fe malate) four levels (FeSO4 - 0, 25, 37.5 and 50 kg ha -1 and Fe chelates - 0, 1, 2.5 and 5 kg ha -1) and two different soils (non-calcareous and calcareous). The experiment was carried out with 2 replications. It was seen that application of Ferrous citrate at 5 kg ha -1 has shown the maximum reduction in cyanogen content and it has shown an increase in crude protein and decreased crude fibre content, which are desirable qualities in fodder crop. The variation in above parameter may be due to the fact that Fe is a constructive component of different enzymes (hematian, cytochroms, propyrin and ferrichrome) that favourably improves the nutritional environment of crop and final yield. All treatments supplied with micronutrients irrespective of the soil has shown decreased cyanogen levels below the threshold of 200 ppm, which is safe for feeding cattle as green forage under normal cultivation.

Diseases of Fodder Crop Rotation Crops Depending on their Cultivation Technologies

Заболеваемость растений является одной из основных причин снижения их продуктивности. В интенсивных технологиях проблему фитосанитарного состояния решают за счёт обработки посевов пестицидами, однако технологии, основанные на этом, ведут к загрязнению земель и водных ресурсов, деградации почвы в результате антропогенных процессов, негативному влиянию на здоровье человека. Альтернативой таким технологиям являются экологические и органические способы ведения сельскохозяйственного производства, однако при этом отмечается снижение продуктивности выращиваемых культур. Поэтому требуется всесторонняя оценка эффективности различных технологий. Для решения этой задачи с точки зрения распространения и развития болезней культур кормового севооборота были проведены научные исследования в совместном опыте кафедры «Агрономия» ФГБОУ ВО Ярославская ГСХА и Ярославского НИИЖК – филиала ФНЦ «ВИК им. В. Р. Вильямса» на дерново-подзолистой среднесуглинистой почве в 2020 году с использованием общепринятых методик. В результате изучения пяти технологий выращивания однолетних и многолетних трав, яровой тритикале, ячменя и кукурузы было установлено, что использование экологических технологий, особенно органической, не способствовало ухудшению фитосанитарного потенциала, а зачастую приводило к его улучшению в посевах вико-овсяной смеси, кукурузы, многолетних трав первого и второго лет пользования. Применение интенсивных технологий положительно сказалось на снижении заболеваемости ячменя и многолетних трав 3 года пользования. При этом урожайность достигала своего максимума на технологиях, обеспечивающих высокий агрофон (интенсивных технологиях), за счёт высоких норм удобрений и применения пестицидов. Таким образом, снижение продуктивности кормовых культур при использовании органической и биологизированной технологий, по сравнению с интенсивными, не было связано с ухудшением фитосанитарного состояния их посевов. The incidence of plants is one of the main reasons for the decrease in their productivity. In intensive technologies, the problem of phytosanitary state is solved by treating sowings with pesticides, but technologies based on this lead to pollution of land and water resources, soil degradation as a result of anthropogenic processes, and a negative impact on human health. An alternative to such technologies is ecological and organic methods of agricultural production, but at the same time, there is a decrease in the productivity of crops grown. Therefore, a comprehensive assessment of the effectiveness of various technologies is required. To solve this problem from the point of view of distribution and development of diseases of fodder crop rotation crops, scientific researches in joint experience of the Agronomy department of the FSBEI of Higher Education Yaroslavl SAA and the Yaroslavl RIFP – branch FSBSI Federal Williams Research Center of Forage Production and Agroecology on the soddy podzolic middle loamy soils in 2020 with use of the common methods were conducted. As a result of the research of five technologies for growing annual and perennial grasses, spring triticale, barley and corn, it was found that the use of environmental technologies, especially organic, did not contribute to the deterioration of phytosanitary potential, but often led to its improvement in sowings of the vetch and oat mixture, corn, perennial grasses of the first and second years of use. The use of intensive technologies has positively affected the decrease in the incidence of barley and perennial grasses for 3 years of use. At the same time, yield reached maximum on technologies that provide high agrophone (intensive technologies), due to high fertilizer rates and the use of pesticides. Thus, a decrease in the productivity of fodder crops using organic and biological technologies, compared with intensive ones, was not associated with a deterioration in the phytosanitary state of their sowings.

THE RESULTS OF THE EVALUATION OF THE BREEDING MATERIAL OF THE FESTULOLIUM IN THE STEPPE CONDITIONS OF THE CENTRAL CHERNOZEM REGION

In recent decades, a new fodder crop – Festulolium (×Festulolium F. Aschers. et Graebn.). The article presents the results of experimental work on the evaluation of the breeding material of the festulolium in the steppe conditions of the Central Chernozem region.

Productivity of fodder crop rotations and their impact on the fertility of leached chernozem

The paper presents the results of the study on the effect of methods for improving a six-field fodder crop rotation on productivity indicators and the content of macroelements available for plants (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) in a layer of 0-40 cmof leached chernozem in two rotations. Field studies were carried out in 2008–2019 in the conditions of the forest-steppe zone of Western Siberia. Improvement techniques included introduction of mineral fertilizers, oversowing legumes and oversowing legumes alongside the use of fertilizers. Oversowing legumes in crop rotation fields resulted in the productivity which was not lower than with the application of mineral fertilizer system. When fertilizers were applied, collection of dry matter in the first and second rotation from a unit of crop rotation area increased by 1.6–1.7 times compared to the control, namely 4.20 and6.30 t/ha, respectively, whereas when legumes were sown in each field, the increase was 1.5–1.8 times (3.97–6.59 t/ha). When both these methods were combined, the yield of dry matter in rotations increased by 1.6–1.8 times (4.32–6.98 t/ha). The alternation of crops in the crop rotation alongside improvement methods during the first two rotations contributed to the 1.7 times increase of nitrate nitrogen in the 0–20 cm layer with the use of mineral fertilizers (3.9 mg/kg of soil), and with legume oversowing – 2.5 times (5.7 mg/kg). The positive effect of crop alternation on the reserves of mobile phosphates in the soil in the control crop rotation was identified. The total amount of mobile phosphates in the experiment was 68 mg/kg in the 0–20 cm layer, and 21 mg/kg in the 20–40 cm layer. By the end of the first rotation, their increase reached 108 and 99 mg/kg, by the end of the second – 239 and 214 mg/kg, respectively. By the end of the second rotation, there was a slight increase in exchangeable potassium in the 0–40 cm layer in the control crop rotation, which was more significant in the 20–40 cm layer – from 97 to 103 mg/kg. In 2018, the mineral fertilization system of cereal crop rotation led to a decrease in exchangeable potassium compared to the control from 116 to 104 mg/kg of soil in the 0–20 cm layer, and from 103 to 91 mg/kg in the 20–40 cm layer. The removal of exchangeable potassium with the yield of cultivated crops due to crop rotation improvement methods exceeded its return with plant residues.