NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF CORN SILAGE MADE IN THE DISTRICTS OF THE VOLOGDA REGION

Abstract

An indispensable factor in the stable improvement of the agricultural sector is the formation of a strong forage base. In the agro-industrial complex, the key feed for
livestock is considered to be hay, silage, haylage, which are made from green plants. Sweet
corn (maize) is characterized by high grain yield (up to 100,00 t/ha) and herbage yield
(450,00–600,00 t/ha). A distinctive feature of corn is drought tolerance: to obtain 1,00 kg of
dry matter, it is necessary to spend half as much water as when growing other grain varieties.
The object and subject of the study are samples of corn silage, which form the basis of the
complete feed of cattle in the agro-industrial complex of the Vologda Region. In the chemical
analysis laboratory with the equipment of the CUC “Center of Agricultural Research and Biotechnology” FSBIS VolRC RAS, an analysis of 87,375 thousand tons of silage made of corn
was performed in 2022 in 7 farms from the Vologodsky, Gryazovetsky and Totemsky districts. The study of chemical composition showed that the concentration of natural moisture in
the corn silage in the analyzed samples corresponded to class II GOST 55986-2014. Here, the
excess of dry matter in the feed of the Gryazovetsky District was 25,35%, which is 3,84% and
4,17% more than in the Vologodsky and Totemsky districts. The analyzed samples had acidity in the pH range of 3,9 – 4,3, which corresponded to class I of GOST 55986-2014 (pH 3,9 –
4,3). Our studies showed that the nutritional value of corn silage, which was made in different
soil and climatic zones of the Vologda Region, was not the same. Correctly harvested silage
retains its qualitative characteristics for a long period. The study of nitrogen concentration in
maize silage demonstrated a high protein potential. This coefficient is considered to be significant in the circumstances of protein deficiency in traditional fodder crops. Analysis of the
chemical composition of the silage will allow the most efficient, rational use of feed and
planning the forage base.