Ways to improve the quality of fodder in irrigated agriculture of the Republic of Dagestan

Abstract

Animal husbandry is the most important branch of the agro-industrial complex of the Republic of Dagestan. Its level of development largely depends on the food supply. The low productivity of animal husbandry in recent years is primarily due to the lack of a sufficient amount of high-quality fodder in the republic. To increase the efficiency of livestock production, urgent measures are needed to improve the fodder base: to upgrade the cultivation technologies for fodder crops, considering the existing economic, environmental, and soil-climatic conditions, to introduce new higher-yielding varieties and hybrids of fodder crops into production to produce a sufficient amount of high-quality fodder, to increase the quality of harvesting and storage of fodder, etc. All this can help to increase the yield of forage crops and their production. The main goals of fodder production in the republic are 1) An increase in the production of a sufficient amount of succulent, coarse, green, and other fodder, 2) Improvement of the quality composition of fodder for an adequate diet, 3) Introduction of resource-saving technologies for the cultivation of forage crops and the highly mechanized and automated production of forage. A sustainable forage base can be created by increasing the utilization efficiency of the forage field, organizing scientifically grounded conveyors for the production of green forage and a raw material base for harvesting hay, haylage, and silage, preparing grass meal, granules, and briquettes, introducing progressive technologies for harvesting and storing forage.