Comparisons of Growth, Yield and Feed Quality at Spring Sowing among Five Winter Cereals for Whole-crop Silage Use

Few spring sowing have been conducted on winter cereal crops for whole-crop silage use. Experiments were conducted during 2007 and 2008 at the Chungnam Agricultural Research and Extension Services. The objectives of this study were compared the spring sowing with the optimum season's sowing on growth, yield and feed quality in five winter cereal crops. The treatments consisted of 5 winter cereal crops, Youngyang (Barley, Spring habit Ⅰ), Keumkang (Wheat, Spring habit Ⅱ), Gogu(Rye, Spring habit estimated Ⅲ), Shinyoung (Triticale, Spring habit estimated Ⅲ), Samhan(Oat, Spring habit estimated Ⅱ), and 3 planting dates, 18 October (optimum season's sowing), 23 February and 10 March in spring. Heading days as affected by spring sowing compared to optimum season sowing were delayed by 16~20 days in barley, wheat, rye and triticale, and 9 days in oat. The clipping dates at the optimal harvesting stage of each crop for round-baled silage in spring sowing was 8 June (yellow ripe stage) in barley, 25 May (10 days after heading) in rye, and 17 June in wheat (yellow ripe stage), triticale (milky stage) and oat (milky stage). The accumulative temperature from emergence to heading was significantly decreased as affected by spring sowing compared to optimum season's sowing, but that of sowing to emergence and that of heading to maturing was similar. The rate of spikes per tillering surveyed at each clipping date was 62.0-73.1 percent in barley, wheat, triticale and oat, and 56.0 percent in rye compared to that of optimum season sowing. The dry matter yield in spring sowing compared to 18 October was obtained about 71.7 percent in barley, 60.6 percent in wheat, 46.2 percent in rye, 70.2 percent in triticale and 110.9 percent in oat. It were increased in acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and crude protein content, but decreased in digestible dry matter content(DDM) and relative feed value (RFV). The yield of DDM by spring sowing was decreased in barley, wheat, rye and triticale, but increased in oat. The yield of dry matter and DDM were higher in oat and triticale than that of barley, wheat and oat. So, regardless to clipping dates and cropping system, the appropriated crop for spring sowing was oat, and subsequently triticale and barley. It was not adopted for spring sowing in rye because of low rate of no. of spikes per tillers and yield. It was necessary eliminated winter growing nature by earlier sowing at the late of February after overwinter.