WINTER CULTURAL PASTURES USING BLACK SAXAUL IN THE CONDITIONS OF THE ARID ZONE OF TAJIKISTAN
The article presents the results of many years of experimental research on the creation of winter cultivated pastures using black saxaul in the arid zone of Tajikistan. The object of the study was the black saxaul growing on the created cultural winter pastures of the demo-section of the breeding sheep farm "Dilshod" of the Rudaki district of the Shuptugay tract, located in the central part of the Gissar Range. The first experiments on the introduction of black saxaul into the culture were laid in December 2012. on plowed and well-levelled soil. Sowing was carried out at a seeding rate in all variants on average - 6.0 kg/ha. Sowing method - continuous over the entire area. The size of the plots is 1000 m2, the repetition of the experiment is twofold. Sowing of black saxaul was carried out on a total area of 40 hectares, using generally accepted agrotechnological methods adopted in crop production. Crops of black saxaul are included in grazing for almost the 2nd year of vegetation. Grazing (moderate) begins from the end of November of the second year of vegetation. By this time, the bushes reach a height of 150 - 170 cm. The trunk becomes stiff and sheep grazing does not damage the plant. Seedlings of black saxaul in the first year of vegetation are characterized by low survival. Their greatest fall is observed in April, when the soil after the rains is covered by 5-6 cm with a dense crust. According to our observations, in early April there were 43.0 tas/ha of plants, in June -21.0, in October - 5.0. Survival in summer and autumn was 62.8 and 18.9%, respectively. With proper use, saxaul pastures retain high productivity for 45-50 years. Harvesting of saxaul seeds is done manually in the phase of mass seed ripening in early November. The research has established and the production practice of farms has shown that the created pastures allow increasing the yield of previously low-productive lands by 3...14 times.