Abstract
Kochia prostrata (L.) Shrad. - a perennial plant with a height of 35-75 cm, according to its life form - a shrub, according to ecology - an euhaloxerophyte, according to an adaptive strategy - violent, an extremely drought-resistant and salt-tolerant, valuable forage plant in desert pastures. It grows on solonetz soils, stony soils, chalk outcrops, in saline and sandy steppes, plain desert sands, on gray soils. In the growing season, Kochia prostrata hay contains up to 16.5 % protein, 15.4 % ash substances, 2.7 % fat, 34.5 % nitrogen-free extractives and 29.6 % fiber. Fodder productivity reaches 2.2-2.5 t/ha of dry fodder mass, seed productivity - on average 100-150 kg/ha. High drought resistance and salt tolerance, good forage qualities make Kochia prostrata a promising forage plant for introduction into cultivation in arid regions of the Caspian semi-desert in order to restore the lost biodiversity and forage productivity of degraded pastures.
Highlights
The current state of natural areas in the arid regions of the Russian Caspian Sea region is characterized by a disturbed structure of pasture vegetation, loss of natural biodiversity, fodder productivity and need to be restored
The range of the species includes the following areas: Upper and Middle Dnieper, Volga-Don, Nizhne-Volzhsky, Ciscaucasian, Verkhne-Tobolsk, Irtysh, Altai, AngaraSayan, Daursky, Aral-Caspian, Balkhash, Gorno-Turkmensky, Dzhungarsko-Tibolsky and the Pamir-Alai [4], as well as Central Europe, Middle-earth, the Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor, Iran, North-West and North-East China, Tibet and Mongolia [5]. It grows on solonetz soils, stony soils, chalk outcrops, in saline and sandy steppes, plain desert sands, on gray soils
The aim of this paper is to study the ecological and biological characteristics and forage performance of Kochia prostrata in the xerothermal conditions of the Caspian semi-desert
Summary
The current state of natural areas in the arid regions of the Russian Caspian Sea region is characterized by a disturbed structure of pasture vegetation, loss of natural biodiversity, fodder productivity and need to be restored. Our study and research by other scientists show that Kochia prostrata (L.) Shrad is a promising forage plant for restoring feed productivity. A valuable forage plant readily eaten by sheep in all seasons of the year [1, 2, 3]. Kochia prostrata hay contains 16.5 % protein, 15.4 % ash, 2.7 % fat, 34.5 % nitrogen-free extractives and 29.6 % fiber. The range of the species includes the following areas: Upper and Middle Dnieper, Volga-Don, Nizhne-Volzhsky, Ciscaucasian, Verkhne-Tobolsk, Irtysh, Altai, AngaraSayan, Daursky, Aral-Caspian, Balkhash, Gorno-Turkmensky, Dzhungarsko-Tibolsky and the Pamir-Alai [4], as well as Central Europe, Middle-earth, the Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor, Iran, North-West and North-East China, Tibet and Mongolia [5]
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