CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF VARIETY OF HERBAGE MIXTURESVERSUSCONSTITUENTS AND SOWING TIME IN THE ARID STEPPE ZONE OF KAZAKHSTAN

Abstract

The article describes the nutritional quality and chemical composition of a variety of herbage mixtures versus on the sowing time and constituents in the arid steppe zone of Kazakhstan. The biennium average data for the study years are given. The second and third decades of May were chosen as the sowing date. Three types of herbage mixtures were investigated in two sowing periods: 1. barley, peas, Sudan grass, hybrid of sorghum-Sudan grass, rapeseed; 2. barley, peas, Sudanese grass, hybrid of sorghum-Sudan grass, barnyard millet; 3. barley, peas, hybrid sorghum-Sudan grass, African millet. In the course of the sowing period, the content of crude protein in the herbage mixtures in the third decade of May was as high as in nitrogen-free extracts (NFE). Depending on the components of the herbage mixtures, the highest indicator of crude protein in the mixture of African millet was 2.87% and 2.74%. NFE in the herbage mixture of cockspur was higher by 0.07-0.16% than in the control variant (herbage mixture with rapeseed). Periods of emergence and germination of grain varieties in the composition of herbage mixtures coincided with the July precipitation, expressed by good leaf coverage, high content of crude protein, carotene, NFE compared to the control variant. The optimum sowing life, in terms of nutritional quality, chemical composition of herbage mixtures with African millet and barnyard millet in the dry steppe zone of Kazakhstan, was the third decade of May.