Sowing times of sudanian grass in the area of dry steppe

Abstract

The most important link in creating a sustainable forage base in Western Kazakhstan is the mandatory cultivation of drought-resistant crops. Among this group of crops Sudan grass — Sorghum sudanense (Piper.) Stapf. — is considered promising According to the peculiarities of the photosynthetic cycle, Sudanese belongs to type C4, which determines its high productivity. In arid weather conditions, it provides crop stability compared to traditional forage crops, can grow quickly after mowing and can be used for silage, haylage, grass meal and green mass. In this regard in order to ensure uninterrupted supply of livestock with fodder raw materials it is relevant to conduct research on adapting elements of Sudan grass cultivation technology to the conditions of the region. In the studies different sowing periods were studied with an interval of 10 days for harvesting green fodder and haylage. The results of scientific studies have shown that for the conditions of the region it is important to select the optimal timing for sowing Sudanese grass. During the years of research the yield of dry mass of Sudanese grass at different sowing periods was 17,88–22,06 с/ha, while the highest productivity was established at 1st early sowing period.