The possibility of maize-soybean and maize-sunflower intercropping as a tool for improving protein content and feeding value of silage in Central Europe/Carpathian Basin
1993
Pinter, L. | Burucs, Z. | Szieberth, D. (Pannon Agrartud. Egyet., Keszthely (Hungary))
Silage, based on mainly maize, is one of the most important forages for ruminants, in Hungary. Since the whole plant maize has been known as energy source containing mainly carbohydrates, while protein is a limiting component, improving the protein source is one of the most stressed objective for crop production in Central Europe. At the same time sunflower and mainly soybean has been known as protein surce cultivars. That is why the possibility of maize based intercropping system with both sunflower and soybean was evaluated in 3-year research program containing both field trial and chemical analysis or in situ digestibility for ruminants, carried out in Keszthely, Hungary. Since the findings of ideal harvest stage for forage sunflower are different, first of all time of harvest was investigated. According to both quantitative features or complex values, as digestible dry matter/protein yield, for whole plant sunflower, the flowering is the best harvest stage. During flowering, the ratio of head within the whole plant is increasing, and that for leaves and stalk with roughly to the same excent are decreasing. The feeding value of leaves was the same during the investigated period, two weeks before and one week after main flowering stage. In case of head it is increasing until main flowering stage and after this it is decreasing. Similar tendency was found in case of stalk, but the degree of increasing is much more moderate and that of decreasing deeper than in case of head.
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