Abstract
Abstract The data of daily conveyor production of melilot hay, harvested mainly in early highly nutritious phases of development, branching and budding, are presented. Melilot, possessing a number of important advantages over other feed crops, nevertheless, are not popular among agricultural practitioners because of their coarse stems, low feed intake and high content of coumarin in plants. Undoubted advantages of melilot include: high yield of hay, haylage and green mass, seeds; salt tolerance and possibility of reclaiming saline lands without drainage and soil leaching; sun resistance; drought resistance; winter hardiness; low irrigation rate; high nutritional value and digestibility of feed; high protein content in plants; low cost cultivation; possibility of obtaining high yields without introduction of nitrogen fertilizers, unpretentiousness to soil fertility; excellent phytomeliorant and soil orderly; soil fertility restorer and excellent precursor for many crops. The varieties of melilot created for cultivation on saline lands of the Caspian Sea region provide an extension of conveyor period of pasture use and harvesting of their raw materials up to 188 days per season.