Prospects for the use of the aboveground biomass of southern cane (Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex. Steud.) in feed production technologies

To increase the efficiency of feed production in Russian regions where there is a shortage of atmospheric soil moisture and unstable weather conditions, it is necessary to develop a set of measures to obtain highly nutritious feeds based on the rational use of local plant resources, which in specific soil and climatic conditions provide the highest output per unit area. From 2021 to 2023, the natural phytocenosis of the southern cane in the floodplain of the Volga River in the Trusovsky district of the Astrakhan region was studied: morphobiological features in different phases of development; dynamics of accumulation of raw and dry aboveground biomass; yield, feed value and protein productivity of dry aboveground biomass in the phase of its maximum accumulation. It was found that in an arid climate (HTC – 0.45-0.46) due to the use of groundwater, the yield of raw and dry aboveground biomass of the southern cane reached: in the «shooting» phase – 19.0 and 5.1 t/ha, in the «earing» phase – 22.8 and 7.2 t/ha, in the «full ripeness» phase – 38.4 and 8.2 t/ha, respectively. The collection of feed units by growth and development phases amounted to 2.24; 3.39; 3.61 t/ha, protein content – 4.5; 10.0; 11.0 %, protein harvest – 0.20; 0.77; 0.91 t/ha, crude fiber content – 13.6; 30.1; 36.0 %, crude fiber harvest – 0.69; 2.32; 2.95 t/ha, respectively. Southern cane in the full ripeness phase contains a complete set of proteinogenic amino acids, while the proportion of essential amino acids exceeds the proportion of non-essential amino acids by 1.32 times, which is atypical for cereals. The significant content of critical amino acids (10.6 %) makes it a promising protein source comparable to legumes. It has been revealed that in terms of yield, feed value and protein productivity, southern cane (raw and dry aboveground biomass) is of undoubted interest as a fodder crop and should be involved in domestic feed production technologies in order to create a solid feed base.