Psathyróstachys júncea as a valuable forage crop of the dry steppe of Kazakhstan

The present work provides scientific data on the sowing technology of Psathyróstachys júncea under the semi-cover of agricultural crops to create hayfields, pastures, and seed fields. The technology has been tested for many years in the production conditions of farms. The article considers the issues of increasing the productivity of forage lands in the conditions of the dry steppe of Kazakhstan. It has been experimentally proven that if sown for four years after sweet clover, the plants of Psathyróstachys júncea gain a relatively high yield on green mass volume compared to the same crop cultivated alone. Thus, by cultivating both crops together it is possible to increase the green mass yield in the first year and in the next years alike. If mixed with wheat-grass, the above crops do not show high results. Wheat-grass sown alone also does not produce high results like in its combination with sweet clover. The forage volumes differ by 30–50 % on average. Thus, the perennial study results on the cultivation technology of Psathyróstachys júncea allowed the scientists of the Ural Agricultural Experimental Station and the Scientific and Production Centre of Cereal Farming named after A. I. Baraev to conclude that for the conditions of Western and Northern Kazakhstan the plant will give stable high yields only on row spacing of 60 cm. The seeding rate should not exceed 5 kg/ha. Otherwise not only the yield decreases but also the quality of seeds. By the three-year study results, the content of crude protein in the Faradiz variety exceeds that in the Shortandinskiy standard variety by 0.7–7.9 %, the content of digestible protein exceeds the standard by 0.9–9.5 %, the content of crude fiber is in the range of 24.16–25.72 %, fat – 2.72–2.90 %.