24.10.2018
The nutritional value of plants is determined by their nutritional value and their acceptability by animals. In turn, nutritional value depends on the chemical composition of plants and digestibility.
In addition to water, plants contain dry matter. In young plants, the share of water is usually 80-90%. In plants in humid places, the water content can be even higher, and in xerophytes and mesophytes in the fruiting phase it is much lower. Accordingly, the amount of dry matter in plants ranges from 10 to 20%.
When the dry matter of a plant is burned, the organic part of it burns, and the inorganic part (mineral or ash) remains. The organic part of the dry matter of the plant contains nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous compounds. The total amount of nitrogenous compounds is called crude protein, which includes proteins and amides containing non-protein nitrogenous substances - amino acids, glucosides, nitrates, ammonium salts, etc. Legumes are the richest in crude protein and protein, much less of them are found in cereals and sedge grasses. In terms of feed, the most valuable proteins are those that cannot be replaced by other organic substances.
Nitrogen-free compounds, which make up most of the dry matter of the plant, belong to two groups of substances - fats and carbohydrates. When analyzing carbohydrates, crude fiber and nitrogen-free extractive substances are isolated, which include sugar starch, inulin, pectin, etc. Fiber is the main component of plant cells. There is a lot of it in the cells of mechanical tissue, and, consequently, in the stems. There is especially a lot of fiber in cereal straw (up to 40-45%). The nutritional value of fiber is small, but it is necessary in certain quantities.
Plant ash contains Ca, P, K, Cl, Na and trace elements.
The chemical composition of plants changes according to the phases of the growing season. Thus, in the tillering - budding phase, the plant contains relatively more protein and less fiber, while in subsequent phases the amount of protein decreases and the amount of fiber increases. In general, forage plants of the tropical zone differ from forage crops of the temperate zone in having a slightly lower protein content and an increased amount of fiber.
During the dry season, the nutrient content of overgrown grasses decreases sharply. However, with equal intervals between mowings in the dry season, the green mass will be richer in protein than in the rainy season. This is evidenced by the results of assessing the feed value of elephant grass in Cuba at different periods of the year. Thus, during the wet period, the content of protein, fat, nitrogen-free extractives, fiber and ash in the grass was 5.7, respectively; 1.6; 28.0; 55.6 and 9.1%, and in dry conditions - 9.3; 3.3; 49.8; 30.1 and 7.5%.
Plant organs are heterogeneous in chemical composition. So, there is less fiber in the leaves, and more protein, carotene and phosphorus than in the stems. Therefore, well-leafed plants are more nutritious, although their dry matter yield is lower than that of species with a predominance of stems.
The chemical composition of plants depends to a large extent on soil conditions. On rich and well-fertilized soils, not only the overall yield is higher, but also its nutrient content.
In the animal's body, plant chemicals are digested, and most of them (from 55 to 85% of dry matter) are spent on vital activity. Particularly high digestibility of plant dry matter is observed in the tillering phase, subsequently it gradually decreases. In Australia, it has been noted that legumes are often superior to cereal grasses in digestibility at later stages of growth. An inverse relationship has been established between fiber content and digestibility: the more fiber, the lower the digestibility of the feed. Tropical plants contain more fiber than temperate forage crops, so their overall protein digestibility is slightly lower. Consequently, the problem of feed protein in the tropics is even more acute than in temperate countries.
To measure the total nutritional value of various feeds, a conventional feed unit is required. To date, there is no generally accepted food unit in the world. Feeds are evaluated by starch equivalents, based on their calorie content. In a number of countries, one feed unit is equal to the feed value of 1 kg of barley, in others - 1 kg of unhulled rice (paddy).
For example, in legumes the content of digestible protein (from 13.8 to 29.2%) is 3-6 times higher than in rice grain. Therefore, grain legumes can play an important role in balancing feed with protein.
A good indicator of the nutritional value of animal feed is the energy of digestible substances, or metabolic (physiologically useful) energy, determined by the difference between the gross energy of the feed and its losses in urine and excrement. It is proposed to evaluate the nutritional value of feed in energy feed units (EFU), for one energy feed unit for cattle 10,500 kJ (2500 kcal) of metabolizable energy is taken. The new feed evaluation system also introduces control of the energy protein ratio (EPO). Correct assessment of the total nutritional value of feed, expressed as the total beneficial effect, allows more accurate planning of the production of livestock products.
The palatability of plants depends on their anatomical and morphological characteristics, chemical composition, aromaticity, vegetation phase, taste, as well as on the type and condition of animals, and weather conditions. The presence of pubescence, thorns, and awns reduces the palatability of plants. Animals usually do not eat plants with a strong odor or unpleasant taste. They are poisonous or harmful to livestock. Forage plants are better eaten in the early phases of the growing season than in the later ones. But there are certain plant species that are preferred by animals in the later phases of the growing season. The palatability of plants is conventionally assessed on the following scale: 5 - they are always eaten and first of all; 4 - they are always eaten, but do not get out of the grass stand; 3 - always eaten, but less readily than previous plants; 2 - eaten only when there is a shortage of excellent and well-eaten foods; 1 - eaten occasionally; 0 - not eaten.
When assessing breeding varieties of the genus Panicum in Australia, their different palatability was revealed, depending on the percentage of foliage.
There are also peculiarities in the consumption of green feed by different types of livestock. For cattle, soft and succulent plants are most suitable, for horses, sheep and goats - dry and hard, for camels - salt-rich, rough, including prickly, for elephants - young shoots of woody plants in combination with herbs. Pigs and young animals of all types of animals willingly eat only young plants. Zebu prefer tall, coarse grains and legumes.
The nutritional value of green feed depends on its botanical composition, growing conditions and location, agricultural technology, and grazing cycle.
In terms of calorie content and digestible protein content, the dry matter of green feed is close to plant concentrates, but surpasses them in the biological value of protein and vitamins. During the growing season of plants, the content of protein and carotene in them decreases and the content of fiber increases, as a result of which digestibility and energy value decrease.
Data on the chemical composition and nutritional value of cereals and legumes, the most common in Russia, are presented in Table 3.2.
During all phases of the growing season, awnless brome and meadow grass contain more protein, the most deficient nutrient, in the feed balance than other cereals. Hedgehog grass is also rich in protein, and if you take into account that it is drought-resistant, begins to grow early in the spring, and is well eaten by animals, then it can be recommended for creating artificial pastures. Meadow bluegrass and meadow fescue contain more nitrogen-free extractive substances than brome and orchard grass.
Of the legumes, alfalfa is the richest in protein: 1 kg of dry matter in the stemming phase contains 36.5 g more than sweet clover, and 31.2 g more than clover.
Legumes are richer in calcium than phosphorus. Thus, in the stemming phase, red clover contains 8.5 times more calcium, white sweet clover - 7.7 times, and alfalfa - 7.0 times more than phosphorus.
Green grass can provide animals with the entire complex of nutrients and biologically active substances (see Table 3.3).
As plants age, the level of protein and ash usually decreases. However, due to the increase in the content of fiber, nitrogen-free extractives (NEFs) and dry matter in general, the amount of gross energy was higher in the flowering phase.
At the same time, due to a decrease in the digestibility of organic matter of “old” plants, the amount of metabolic energy in the dry matter of herbs in the flowering phase is less than in the early stages of the growing season.
Increasing the production of milk, meat and other livestock products largely depends on both the quantity and quality of feed, which is determined by the presence of many substances. Amino acids occupy an important place among them. In the process of using grass from cultivated pastures, the content of not only protein, but also many amino acids changes (see Table 3.4).
Thus, the content of essential amino acids is higher in the first bleeding cycle, in the second cycle it decreases slightly, and in the third it increases again. Obviously, this can be explained by the fact that the first grazing cycle coincides with a period of intensive grass growth in spring and early summer.
The content of amino acids in plants is also affected by the species. As a rule, legumes contain more protein and, accordingly, amino acids. Among the cereal grasses, foxtail foxtail, meadow bluegrass, and timothy grass are rich in lysine.
The lysine content in hedgehog grass is lower than in other cereal plants. Among leguminous herbs, there is more lysine in vetch, alfalfa (Omsky variety) and red clover. Sweet clover is high in arginine, and peas are high in valine.
The developmental stage of plants is also reflected in their amino acid composition.
If in meadow timothy and red clover the lysine content decreases somewhat during flowering, then in meadow fescue and alfalfa it increases. As the age of plants increases, the content of amino acids such as arginine, histidine (except meadow grass), phenylalanine (except alfalfa), etc. increases.
Green food
Green fodder includes grasses from natural and artificial meadows and pastures, crops cultivated for green fodder, and vegetable waste.
Green fodder is fed to farm animals of all types. For cattle, sheep, goats, horses and rabbits, green food is one of the main foods in the summer. For poultry, as well as pigs and some other animals, green food is additional and serves to balance diets and increase their nutritional value.
In the annual structure of diets, green food takes up on average: for cows - about 30%), for young cattle - up to 40%, for sheep and goats - up to 52%, for horses - up to 35%, for rabbits - up to 50%. , for pigs - up to 8% and for poultry - up to 4%.
The cost of one feed unit of green feed is the lowest compared to grain and other feeds, therefore green feed produces the cheapest livestock products, especially milk and cattle meat. Cows fed green feed produce maximum productivity and high quality milk. During the summer feeding period, up to 70% of the annual milk yield can be obtained.
Green food has dietary properties and has a positive effect on animal appetite, the palatability of other feed, digestion and absorption of nutrients from feed throughout the diet. On one highly nutritious green feed, for example, ruminant animals grow and develop well, have normal reproduction and give maximum productivity.
Green food contains high-value proteins (complex protein), essential amino acids (lysine, methionine, tryptophan, etc.), fatty acids (linoleic, linolenic, arachidonic, etc.), easily digestible carbohydrates (sugars), many vitamins and all the most important mineral salts and microelements. In terms of its composition, green food is distinguished by a high content of physiologically bound water - from 70 to 85%, depending on the type of plant and the phase of the growing season. The dry matter of green feed, especially young grass, is close to concentrated feed in terms of digestible protein content and general nutritional value and significantly exceeds the latter in terms of the biological value of protein and vitamin content.
The nutrients in green food are highly digestible. For example, in cattle the digestibility of protein is 50-70%, fat - 40-70%, fiber - 50-60%, nitrogen-free extractives - 70-80%. In non-ruminant animals (pigs, etc.), the digestibility of nutrients from green feed, especially fiber, is somewhat lower.
Green food is rich in vitamins and minerals. 1 kg contains on average: carotene (provitamin A) from 30 to 60 mg, vitamin E - from 40 to 70 mg, vitamin K - up to 200 mg, vitamin C - up to 900 mg, etc. The content of vitamins in the grass is dramatically decreases as plants age. 1 kg of green food contains on average: calcium - 2-3 g, phosphorus - 0.5-1.5 g, magnesium - 0.4-1.0 g, iron - 20-60 mg, zinc - up to 40 mg etc.
The composition and nutritional value of green fodder depends on many factors: the land on which the fodder is produced (natural and artificial pastures, field forage production), the botanical composition of pasture grass and the type of field plants, the phase of plant development in which green fodder is fed, the growing conditions of fodder plants soil, fertilizers, agricultural technology, etc.).
Composition and nutritional value of green pasture forage
Farm animals obtain the vast majority of green fodder from pastures. Therefore, one of the main conditions for strengthening the forage base of dairy, beef cattle breeding, horse breeding and sheep breeding in the summer is to increase and improve the composition and nutritional value of pasture grass. In addition, the cost of production of one feed base in green pasture forage is 2-3 times lower than in feed grain, hay, haylage and silage and 4-5 times lower than in root tuber crops. In addition, when feeding 1 ton of good, highly nutritious pasture grass, for example, dairy cows can get 333 kg of milk, and when feeding the same grass in the form of silage - 242 kg, haylage - 262 kg, artificially dried hay - 190 kg, field-dried hay - only 80 kg.
The importance of pasture food also lies in the fact that good grass contains estrogenic substances, which increase the reproductive qualities of females. For example, cows that remained barren during the winter feeding period for various reasons, when they go out to pasture in the first month of summer feeding, come into heat and are normally inseminated.
The nutritional value of green pasture forage depends primarily on the botanical composition of the grass. Representatives of the families of cereals, legumes, Asteraceae, solyaceae, etc. are of greatest importance as pasture plants.
However, there are differences in the edibility of individual herbs, in their digestibility and dietary effect, which is due to the peculiarities of the chemical composition and morphological properties of the plants. Many plants are poorly eaten by animals due to the pubescence of the leaves, the development of silica teeth, thorns and thorns on the stems and leaves, and other things; there are many similar plants among saltworts, thistles, bindweeds, and mordovniks; some plants contain an excess of tannins (for example, chamomile), organic acids (sorrel) or salts (solyanka, kochia, mari, etc.), which reduce the palatability of plants; Finally, often the reason for poor palatability is the high content of strong-smelling and bitter substances in plants, for example, wormwood in the flowering stage, mountain cutworm, mint, etc.
The best cereal pasture plants include: meadow bluegrass, red and meadow bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, timothy, white bentgrass, awnless brome, hedgehog grass, creeping wheatgrass, meadow foxtail, etc. Significantly inferior to them are tall ryegrass, pike grass, fragrant spikelet, tall fescue, reed grass, manna grass, reeds, comb grass, etc.
In the steppe regions, fescue, feather grass, and wheatgrass are widespread and well used by animals; Of lesser importance are bromegrass, bluegrass, hair grass, foxtail grass, mulberry, beckmania, millet, etc.
Cereal plants are edible and are well eaten in the period before flowering. Feather grass, fescue, bluegrass, mortuca, and thin-legged grasses are readily eaten by horses, sheep, and goats; cattle eat these plants much worse. Wheatgrass is eaten better by horses and cattle, worse by sheep and goats. Cattle eat bluegrass, pinetail, and bentgrass more readily than other animals. Bonfires, hairs, and beckmania are equally suitable for cattle, horses, sheep and goats. Reed plays a significant role in the steppe zone, occupying vast areas along the banks of lakes, rivers and seas. The reed is edible only before flowering; after flowering it becomes very coarse
Pasture grass with a predominance of bluegrass has the highest nutritional value. 1 kg of this grass at natural moisture contains 0.32 feed. units and 3.7 MJ of metabolizable energy, which is 13-35% higher than in grass dominated by other cereal plants. The content of digestible protein in grass with a predominance of mint is higher by 8-60%, the amino acid lysine is higher by 13-60%, phosphorus - by 40-66%, sodium - by 30-90%, iron - by 8-72%, manganese - by 32-65% compared to pasture grass. The maximum calcium content is observed in grass with a predominance of wheat grass, starch, sulfur and carotene - wheat grass, sugar and zinc - reed grass, methionine, copper and cobalt - feather grass, potassium and chlorine - hedgehog grass. Fiber is found least in pasture grass with a predominance of bluegrass (10.9%) and higher in grass with a predominance of reed grass (15.4%).
The best pasture legume plants include: red and white clover, white lyadvinets, alfalfa, vetch, china, etc.
In the steppes, semi-deserts and deserts, the legumes that deserve the most attention are: alfalfa, astragalus, vetch, camel thorn, licorice, china, fenugreek, fenugreek, etc. Of these, alfalfa is well eaten, much worse - astragalus, china, sweet clover, very poorly and only During the period before flowering, camel thorn is eaten by cattle, but camels eat it well.
Among the Compositae plants that are important in steppe pasture farming are: wormwood, especially on brown and light chestnut soils, millennial, daisies, thistles, salsify, dandelions, goats, lettuces. The edibility of this group of plants is very different depending on the morphological characteristics, the content of aromatic and bitter substances.
Among the wormwoods, white wormwood stands out in terms of food value. Sheep eat wormwood better than other animals, horses eat it worse, and cattle eat it even worse. The leaves and young shoots of wormwood are most edible in early spring and late autumn. In the summer months, until the end of flowering, animals eat them poorly or not at all due to the strong odor caused by the essential oils. Quite willingly, sheep and goats eat yarrow leaves in early spring; Among other asteraceae, lettuces, thistles and goats are edible at a young age.
Of the saltworts, the most important forage species are barnacle, stag, kokhia, quinoa, saxaul and subway. Juicy saltworts are eaten mainly by camels; all other types of farm animals eat them in late autumn, winter and early spring. Dry saltwort is readily eaten by horses, sheep and, worse, cattle and even worse, camels. Kuprek, ebelek, and kohia are especially foamy from hodgepodge.
Excess salts, especially chlorine and sulphates, are the cause of poor eatability of juicy solyankas. The maximum salt content is observed in young plants, in mature plants there is much less salt and in dry plants and in overwintered saltworts leached by rain.
Of the sedges, felt, millet and dioica are considered the best. Horses, sheep, goats readily eat steppe sedges; cattle eat them worse: cats and even worse - camels.
The composition and nutritional value of pasture grass with a predominance of clover, wormwood, sedges and their mixtures are shown in Table 41. From this group of plants, in terms of energy nutrition, pasture grass with a predominance of wormwood stands out, but due to its limited consumption by animals, clover and legumes and cereals are of greatest importance in composition mixtures. Legume-cereal grass is superior to all others, mainly in the content of digestible protein, calcium, potassium and zinc.
The botanical composition and nutritional value of green fodder varies significantly depending on the type of pasture in the zones of the country. It is known that natural pastures are divided into tundra, forest, forest-steppe and steppe, mountain, alpine and subalpine, floodplain, and swamp.
In the tundra zone, the basis of winter pasture food for deer are various types of moss, mosses and lichens. In addition to them, there are various types of sedges, sheep fescue, cotton grass, dwarf willows and birches. The nutritional value of 1 kg of grass from this pasture is 0.21-0.29 feed units, and the digestible protein contains 10-12 g. The yield of such a pasture is low - 2-8 quintals of green mass per 1 ha. For winter grazing, deer also use tundra grassy swamps and swampy meadows, the botanical composition of which is represented by sedge-grass-horsetail vegetation (sedge, beckmania, reed grass, mosses, horsetails, dwarf willows and birches). The nutritional value of 1 kg of grass from this pasture is on average 0.25 feed. units and 36 g of digestible protein. The pasture yield is on average 15-20 centners of green mass per 1 hectare.
In the forest zone, clearings, forest clearings and forest areas are used for grazing. These pastures contain reed grass, red fescue, common bentgrass, turfgrass, fragrant spikelet, lily of the valley, geranium, buttercups, sedges, etc.
In the clearings there are red and white clovers, Lyadvinets, mouse peas, etc. 1 kg of forest pasture grass contains an average of 0.19 feed. units and 20 g of digestible protein. The productivity of forest pastures is 20-30 centners of green mass per 1 hectare. The composition and nutritional value of forest pasture grass are presented in Table 42.
In the forest zone, wetlands are used as pastures for cattle, in which mainly turfy, vesicular, slender, etc. sedges grow, reeds, reeds, buttercups, etc. The nutritional value of the grass of such pastures is low: 1 kg of feed contains on average 0.15 feed. units and 16 g of digestible protein. The yield of consumed green mass is 5-15 centners per 1 ha.
Significant areas of pastures in the forest zone are located in the floodplains of rivers. The botanical composition of these pastures depends on the terrain and the duration of flooding. On floodplain pastures grow meadow bluegrass, red and meadow fescue, common beckmania, reed grass, awnless brome, white bentgrass, meadow timothy grass, dandelion, yarrow, early sedge, red and white clover, yellow alfalfa, etc. 1 kg of green forage of floodplain pasture on average it contains 0.21 feed. units and 28 g of digestible protein. The yield of consumed green mass is on average 25-35 centners per 1 ha.
In the forest-steppe and steppe zones, meadow and narrow-leaved bluegrass, red and fescue, timothy, creeping wheatgrass, fescue, thin-legged slender, wormwood, yarrow, dandelion, white clover, yellow alfalfa, small sedges, reed grass, feather grass, twig grass, etc. grow on pastures. The nutritional value of 1 kg of grass from these pastures is on average 0.24-0.26 feed units, and the digestible protein contains 24-28 g. The yield of consumed green mass is on average 16-27 kg per 1 ha.
In desert and semi-desert pastures, the herbage mainly contains feather grass, fescue, desert wheatgrass, wormwood, camel thorn, desert sedge, bulbous bluegrass, saltwort, and astragalus. In the spring, semi-desert pastures contain a large number of ephemerals.
The composition of the grass stand on desert pastures largely depends on the availability of moisture. 1 kg of desert pasture grass contains an average of 0.26 feed. units l 15 g of digestible protein, semi-deserts - 0.34 feed. units and 42 g of digestible protein. The yield of the consumed grass of these pastures is 4-10 centners per 1 ha.
On mountain, alpine and subalpine pastures, the main forage plants are alpine bluegrass, lady's mantle, alpine foxtail, fescue, tonkonogo, variegated brome, ulcer, hellebore, Caucasian caraway, alfalfa, aconite, etc. 1 kg of green grass of mountain pastures contains on average 0 ,23 feed units and 30 g of digestible protein, alpine pastures - 0.26 feed, respectively. units and 27 g and subalpine pastures - 0.26 feed. units and 30 g. The yield of grass eaten on mountain pastures is 8-40 centners, on alpine pastures - 12-30 centners and on subalpine pastures - 20-50 centners per 1 ha.
On floodplain (flood) pastures, cereals and forbs grow with an admixture of legumes. Often found are creeping wheatgrass, awnless brome, meadow grass, blue and yellow alfalfa, white clover, mouse peas, licorice, early sedge, yellow bedstraw, hill geranium, etc. The nutritional value of 1 kg of green fodder of this pasture is on average 0.21 fodder. units and 24 g of digestible protein. The yield of grass eaten in floodplain pastures is high - from 30 to 60 centners per hectare.
In bog pastures, the botanical composition of grasses varies depending on the natural area. For the most part, grass bogs are characterized by sedge-grass-forb vegetation. The nutritional value of green swamp food is relatively low.
1 kg of grass contains an average of 0.19 feed. units and 18 g of digestible protein. The yield of consumed green grass in marsh pastures averages 15-20 centners per hectare.
The composition and nutritional value of green forage of sown (cultivated, artificial) pastures also depends on the botanical composition, the phase of plant development and agricultural technology (fertilizer, irrigation, etc.). To obtain high and sustainable grass yields from sown pastures, it is necessary to correctly select the components of grass mixtures.
Grass mixtures in the central regions of the Non-Chernozem Zone most often include red and white clover, timothy, meadow fescue, cocksfoot, awnless brome, meadow foxtail, etc.
In the forest-steppe and steppe zones, grass mixtures include alfalfa, red clover, timothy, meadow fescue, rhizomatous wheatgrass, awnless brome, broadleaf wheatgrass, etc.
The total nutritional value of grass in sown pastures is on average 0.2 feed. units and 25 g of digestible protein (Table 48). The protein content of the grass of these pastures, among other things, fluctuates with grazing cycles. If the protein content in the grass of the first grazing cycle is taken as 100, then in the second it will be equal to 80%, in the third and fourth cycles - 90%.
When grazing green forage is used on perennial sown pastures, the grass grows 5-6 times over the summer period and produces relatively high yields. The dry matter of the grass during the phase of the emergence of cereal plants and the beginning of budding of legumes contains 0.8-0.9 feed. units The content of digestible protein depends on the amount of legumes in the grass stand and on the level of nitrogen nutrition of plants and can reach 140 - 160 g per 1 kg of dry matter. Over the course of a season, sown pastures can produce up to 35 centners of dry matter or more, and feed units - 30-40 centners per hectare. In this case, the yield of green mass is 150-200 centners per 1 ha.
In the middle and end of the summer season, the remnants of meadows and pastures are used for grazing. The fallout from hayfields can be released to animals 20-30 days after mowing the grass.
If there is sufficient space on the farm, the waste can also be used to prepare small-grass vitamin hay, mainly for calves, lambs and horses. Good harvest is provided by artificial pastures, as well as natural hayfields of cereal-forb upland, steppe and flood meadows.
Plant products are a valuable source of minerals (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, etc.) and microelements (iodine, copper, cobalt, etc.), which are necessary for the implementation of the most important biological and physiological processes that underlie life activity body. Minerals and trace elements serve as an integral part of the cell's protoplasm, maintain its physiological state, regulate osmotic pressure and acid-base balance in the body. A deficiency of minerals, as well as their excess, can lead to significant functional disorders in the body.
Plant foods also contain phytoncides, oxidative enzymes, essential oils, and vitamins. Water-soluble vitamins (B1, B2, B6, C, PP) contained in plants are physiologically active, complex organic substances that, participating in the construction of enzymes, play an important role in the interaction with minerals and amino acids. With a lack of these vitamins, the function of cellular enzymes and metabolism are disrupted.
With plant foods, the human body receives so-called flavoring and aromatic substances, which, as a rule, do not have much nutritional value and are added to give food a unique taste and aroma. These substances not only stimulate appetite, but also affect the secretion of the digestive glands and improve digestion processes. Aromatic substances include essential oils found in many plants (especially in spices). Essential oils inhibit fermentation processes in the gastrointestinal tract, stimulate metabolism, secretion of the salivary glands and glands of the gastrointestinal tract. Aromatic substances have a bactericidal effect due to the release of phytoncides (onion, garlic, radish, etc.). The high content of vitamins makes these products valuable for both healthy and sick people.
Plants are especially rich in vitamins in spring. For example, in early spring, nettle contains more ascorbic acid than oranges and lemons, and as much carotene as carrots; 20 g of nettle covers the body's daily requirement for vitamin K.
Plant products are eaten raw or after cooking, in the form of additives and seasonings. Raw vegetables containing a small amount of sodium chloride are used when prescribing fasting days. Such food not only has a diuretic effect in case of a tendency to edema, but also contributes to the body’s minimal need for water and thereby reduces the feeling of thirst. Raw plant products retain vitamins, phytoncides, and oxidative enzymes that stimulate digestion processes. Raw plant foods also have immune properties. When cooking vegetables, essential oils and trace elements are transferred into a decoction (often not used) along with other active substances.
S. VERESHCHAGIN
Wild edible plants
North
Methods of collection and processing
Dish recipes
Syktyvkar 2008
Vereshchagin S.A. Forest dining room:
Reference manual. Syktyvkar, 2008
The reference guide examines more than 80 species of wild edible plants of the European North, and describes the rules for their collection, processing and consumption.
The book is intended for a wide range of readers - nature lovers.
Vereshchagin Sergey Aleksandrovich – employee of the Komi Republican Environmental Center for Additional Education.
Area of practical activity: problems of survival in the wild natural environment and urban conditions, primitive technologies.
© Vereshchagin S.A., 2008
Any reproduction of this manual or part thereof
permitted only with the written permission of the author
To children who know the world,
Dedicated
PREFACE
During autonomous actions of people far from populated areas, during natural disasters and catastrophes, as well as in other cases of food shortages, wild plants can serve as an additional source of food. Their use during wars and social disasters saved millions of people from illness and starvation, deprived of usual sources of supplies, who were surrounded, blockaded, or located in territory occupied by the enemy.
There are many cases where people who found themselves in deserted areas for various reasons survived for weeks, months, and sometimes years, eating food, a significant part of which was wild plants and mushrooms. Their use is also advisable if there is a sufficient amount of regular food products. Wild plants are significantly superior to cultivated plants in terms of the content of a number of useful substances. However, you can use local resources to support your existence only if you have certain knowledge that allows you to recognize useful wild plants, distinguish them from poisonous species and prepare medicines and food from them.
On the vast territory of the Komi Republic and the Arkhangelsk region, starting from the southernmost regions to the Bolshezemelskaya tundra and the Arctic islands, a large number of species of higher plants grow, which constitute countless plant resources - one of the most important types of natural resources of our northern region. The flora includes over fifty species of ferns and gymnosperms and about 1000 species of flowering plants. In addition, more than 100 alien species have been recorded. The cultivated flora (excluding herbaceous ornamental plants) includes about 75 species. Among more than a thousand wild ferns and seed plants common in our two regions, there are many different groups of useful species.
But, unfortunately, resource scientists still pay little attention to wild useful plants, because performing this task presents a number of difficulties. One of the significant obstacles to carrying out this work is that very often botanists themselves do not know enough about the food and technical species of wild plants, and there are no relevant literature, manuals and reports about them in many regions and territories of Russia. In fact, there are almost no such manuals about useful plants in the Arkhangelsk region and the Komi Republic. This guide will help fill this gap. It consists of a general part, which provides information about the nutritional value of the most common wild plants in our northern regions, and indicates the rules for collecting and cooking plants.
A special part consists of the characteristics of the most important species of food plants growing mainly in the Northern Dvina and Pechora basins. Descriptions of plants are given in alphabetical order in accordance with their Russian names. If available, the Komi names of plants are given. After the description of the species, recipes for dishes from this plant are given. If one of the components of the recipe is missing, the dish can be prepared without it, since in the field it is difficult to achieve one hundred percent supply of all ingredients to the table, and this is not necessary. The notes highlight species listed in the Red Book. Protected plants should only be used as a last resort when it is a matter of life and death.
NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF WILD PLANTS
Wild plants contain almost all the necessary food components: vitamins, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, mineral salts and water.
The role of fresh plants is especially important as a source of vitamins, most of which are not synthesized in the human body. Many of them are not completely preserved in canned foods that form the basis of emergency food supplies, or are contained in them in a poorly digestible form.
A lack of vitamins causes disruption of the most important biochemical and physiological processes in the human body and can lead to decreased performance, decreased resistance to adverse environmental influences, deterioration of tissue regeneration, slower blood clotting, impaired adaptation and the development of a number of serious diseases, even with an abundant diet of high-calorie foods.
The green parts of plants contain mainly vitamins C, K, E, and seeds, roots and tubers contain B vitamins. Vegetable oils are also rich in vitamin E. The fruits of many plants contain flavonoids (vitamin P), as well as vitamin PP. Vitamin A is found in plants in the form of so-called provitamins (carotenoids), which are converted into the corresponding vitamins in the animal body. According to Professor A.A. Kichigin, in many plants of our northern flora the content of carotenoids is much higher than in cultivated plants.
The daily requirement of an adult for many vitamins can be satisfied by eating 50-100 g of wild plants.
Plants are the main source of carbohydrates, which during heavy physical activity, common in extreme conditions, should make up more than 50% of the diet.
Due to quickly digestible plant sugars (glucose, fructose, sucrose), the body's energy expenditure can be replenished in the shortest possible time. Starch is digested more slowly and is deposited as a reserve substance in roots, rhizomes, tubers, bulbs, seeds and fruits. In the tubers of Asteraceae and some other plants, the water-soluble polysaccharide inulin, which is close to starch, accumulates. Plant foods containing fiber, which forms the basis of plant cell walls, stimulates intestinal motor function and promotes the activity of beneficial intestinal bacteria. However, in old plants, the cell walls are gradually saturated with a number of substances, as a result of which their tissues become rough. Such plants are difficult to digest and are not recommended for consumption.
A person can also satisfy his basic protein needs through plants. A significant amount of proteins is contained, for example, in the green mass of quinoa, nettle, and legumes. However, plant proteins are less digestible than animal proteins. Most of them do not contain sufficient quantities of all the essential amino acids necessary for the human body. Therefore, to maintain normal metabolism, a certain amount of complete animal proteins should be introduced into the daily diet.
From wild plants you can get fats (vegetable oils), which are found mainly in the seeds. Fats are part of the cellular structures of all types of tissues and organs and are necessary for their construction. Their energy value is twice that of proteins and carbohydrates. In addition, fats provide mechanical protection and thermal insulation for the body. Plant fats contain mainly the most biologically valuable unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins A and E, and other biologically active substances. Plant fats are easier to digest than animal fats.
Wild plants are rich in minerals, which include vital nutritional components such as inorganic elements, various salts and water. Minerals are necessary for the formation and construction of body tissues, especially the skeleton, as well as for the activity of the endocrine glands, metabolism and energy, in particular water-salt metabolism.
Wild plants contain significant amounts of potassium, magnesium, copper and other trace elements.
To summarize the above, the food plants of our northern flora can be divided into a number of groups according to the beneficial substances they contain, as well as according to the method of their use:
1. Plants capable of accumulating starch, inulin and other useful substances in roots, rhizomes and seeds Often, wild starch-bearing plants accumulate in the underground parts twice as much starch as in potato tubers. The rhizomes and roots of such plants are usually collected in the fall, when they are especially rich in starch and other reserve nutrients. They are eaten fried with butter or dried and ground into flour, which is added to bread. There are about 20 species of such plants in the local flora.
2. Vegetables and salads are plants that can be eaten fresh, in the form of salads, as an admixture to vinaigrettes, used for preparing main courses, sauces, for seasoning soups, etc. About 45 species of such plants grow on the territory of the Arkhangelsk region and the Komi Republic
3. In our North, due to harsh climatic conditions, there is no developed cultural gardening, therefore, among wild food plants, the group of berries and other succulent fruits is especially important.
This includes trees, shrubs, and perennial herbaceous species that produce juicy edible fruits that are an extremely valuable food product. They contain the most easily digestible forms of sugars: glucose, fructose, sucrose, as well as proteins, fats, mineral salts, organic acids, enzymes, vitamins, tannins and various aromatic substances.
On the territory of our two regions, 27 species of wild berry plants grow, which annually produce abundant harvests in one place or another. The population annually collects large quantities of lingonberries, cranberries, blueberries, currants and other berries, which are consumed fresh, and also by processing high-quality food products, jams, compotes, juices, syrups, confectionery products, etc. d. Wild fruit and berry plants constitute the most important raw material base for the canning, confectionery and vitamin industries. In the preparation of tasty and nutritious food, a large role belongs to spicy flavoring substances, which stimulate appetite, enhance the secretion of digestive juices and contribute to better digestion and assimilation of food by the body. The most important source of such substances are spice plants.
About 15 species of such plants grow in the local wild flora. In addition, about 20 species of plants grow in our conditions, which are widely used to flavor various drinks and produce tea and coffee. For example, linden and St. John's wort flowers produce golden-yellow aromatic tea. The local population widely uses leaves and fruits of raspberries, black currants, lingonberries and other plants to obtain tea leaves (without special processing). A number of species (saxifrage, saxifrage, trifoliate, common juniper, etc.) are used in brewing, as well as in the distillery industry.
Among the wild plants of our flora, there are about 60 species that accumulate fatty oils in their seeds and fruits, which can be used for both food and technical purposes.
In total, in the territory covered by our description, according to scientists, about 150 species of plants grow, which accumulate substances useful to humans in their organs and, in one form or another, can be used for food (food) purposes. However, the local population consumes only about 20 species of berry plants and several types of wild vegetable, salad, spice and beverage plants. Such insignificant consumption of wild food plants is explained, first of all, by ignorance of both the plants themselves and the methods and techniques of using them. Meanwhile, in remote and sparsely populated areas of our vast northern lands, where the supply of fresh vegetables is not always established, wild food plants can significantly supplement the diet.
Knowledge about wild edible plants will also be useful for extreme tourists, expedition participants, people who have suffered an accident in the middle of the taiga - in a word, for everyone who, for various reasons, finds themselves in conditions of autonomous existence without sufficient food supplies or wants to diversify their daily menu.