Research Activities of Agricultural Societies of the Poltava Region in Animal Husbandry and Poultry Farming in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries

Abstract

The article outlines the contribution of agricultural societies of the Poltava region to the scientific support of animal husbandry at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The scientific novelty of the obtained results lies in the fact that for the first time a comprehensive analysis has been carried out of the research activities of these societies not only in the development of sheep breeding and pig farming but also horse breeding, agricultural poultry farming and beekeeping. It has been demonstrated that it was the members of the Poltava Society of Agriculture and Agricultural Industry who during the indicated period actively began to implement sectoral research in sheep breeding, pig farming, horse breeding and beekeeping, while the members of the Poltava branch of the Imperial Russian Society of Agricultural Poultry Farming established a scientific basis for experiments in raising and feeding domestic poultry. The experimental activity of the centers contributed to the establishment and development of pedigree breeding in Ukrainian animal husbandry, in particular regarding the development of breeding programs for animal reproduction, effective methods and technologies for restoring valuable breeding resources, practical recommendations for the application of scientific and technical achievements in production. At the Poltava experimental field, experiments on feeding animals were organized. In addition to developing rational methods of animal husbandry, such activities contributed to the acquisition of breeding material and the profitable sale of livestock products both within the country and abroad, which gave animal husbandry an industrial character. It has been established that thanks to regional agricultural societies a program for a network of sectoral research stations was formed, which led in 1910 to the transformation of the Poltava experimental field into the Poltava Agricultural Experimental Station, where an animal husbandry department with a laboratory was opened. There a series of experiments in pig farming were conducted on a permanent basis, in particular on crossbreeding of pigs and their fattening with various feeds, as well as experiments on the profitability of keeping Karakul sheep on artificial pastures and in stalls.