Resource-saving technologies of hay harvesting in the mountainous zone of the Central Caucasus

Abstract

Abstract. The authors present the technology and descriptions of aggregates for hay harvesting on mountain slopes. The aim of the study is to reduce the loss of green mass when harvesting hay with the use of mountain modification aggregates, to improve the safety of hay with the use of a preservative (table salt). The object of the study is a complex of hay harvesters, aggregated with low-clearance tractors, designed to work on sloping areas with a slope of up to 16°. The tasks of the research included: to select a set of hay harvesters, to study and use their technical capabilities, which allow optimizing the harvesting time, ensuring the lowest losses of the harvested feed, increasing its quality and safety for the winter-stable period of keeping animals. The novelty of the technical solution is that the selected haymaking machines allow you to reduce the time of haymaking operations in mountainous areas and reduce the cost of manual labor. Tests of this technology were carried out in the mountain zone of the RSO – Alania (Dargavs basin, the stronghold of the SKNIIGPSH) at an altitude of 1540 m above sea level in the south-eastern exposure with a slope steepness of up to 150. Results. It was found that the content of pressed hay increased-feed units by 32.1 %; dry matter by 29.6 %; crude protein by 17.3 %; fat by 7.4 %; fiber by 14.2 %; sugar by 17.6 %; metabolic energy by 8.0 %. The developed technology allows more than 1.2 times to reduce mechanical losses, provides an increase in productivity compared to manual harvesting in 4–5 times, reducing the time cleaning 3 times at the same time increase the nutritive value of forage mass, increases palatability harvested forage 18.5 %, which positively affects the physiological condition of the animals during the winter housing period, increasing milk yield is 11.7 %.