FORAGEPRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY OF HAYFIELDS DEPENDING ON COMBINED APPLICATION OF AMMONIUM PHOSPHATE FERTILIZER AND AMMONIUM NITRATE FERTILIZER

Abstract

This paper discusses the effect of a multiple-nutrient fertilizer and a mixture of simple mineral fertilizers on yield increase and forage quality improvement of hayfields under the conditions of the mid-mountain zone of the Republic of Altai. The natural forage lands of the mid-mountain zone of the Republic of Altai are characterized by the predomi-nance of the motley grass-grasses type of vegetation. The soils are deficient in available phosphorus and have in-creased exchangeable potassium content, so it is advisa-ble to apply mineral fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorus. The research was conducted from 2018 through 2020 on the farm of the KFK “Yegarmina M.M.” in the Shebalinskiy District of the Republic of Altai. In the var-iants of ammonium phosphate fertilizer application and its combination with ammonium nitrate in the rates of 20 and 40 kg ha (primary nutrient basis), yield increase of 24.1-85.9% (0.72-2.56 t ha) was obtained. The mineral fertilizers not only increase the yields, but also improve the nutritional value and forage quality. Digestible protein content in one fodder unit increased by 15-35 g as compared to that of the control. The maximum value of this indicator (116 g) was recorded in the variant with N12P52. Thus, the application of mineral fertilizers made it possible to obtain forages that met animal nutrition requirements.