Agronomical properties of Estonian new herbage varieties
1994
Viiralt, R. (Estonian Agricultural Univ., Tartu (Estonia). Inst. of Grassland Science and Botany)
Regions of Estonia are extremely different in their climatic and soil conditions. Therefore it is of necessity to have a large number of cultivated germplasms. Actually a large number of cultivated grass species, but relatively small number of cultivars are characteristic of the Estonian practical grassland husbandry. To study the productivity, nutritive value, persistence and optimum cutting regime of new cultivars (cv) of grasses and herbage legume in 1990 a complex field trial on Pseudopodzolic soil at the Eerika Agronomical Experimental Station was established. The experiment included: 1) timothy (Phleum pratense) cv 'Tia' (mainly for cutting systems) and 'Tika' (for grazing); 2) meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis) 'Arni'; 3) smooth bromegrass (Bromopsis inermis) 'Tsonalnaja' (from Russia); 4) perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) 'Raidi';5) bastard lucerne (Medicago media) 'Karlu' (bred also for grazing); 6) white clover (Trifolium repens) 'Milka Pajberg' (from Denmark). As an average of the first 3 harvest years the dry matter (DM) yield was increased by the reduction in the annual number of cuts: considerably more DM (but much poorer in protein) was obtained by 3 or 2 cuts than in the case of 5 or 4 ones. But the annual yield of crude protein (CP) from grasses cultivars (applied 240 kg mineral N ha (-1)) was unexpectedly of slight dependence on the frequency of cutting, while the CP yield from plotscut under 2 or 3 cuts was even higher than that under 4 or 5 cuts. In case of 2 or 3 cuttings the CP content in DM of grasses was considerably lower than the minimum level (14 per cent) required for high-producing dairy cows and in such case the protein-rich supplementary feeds are necessary. The grass of legumes, on the contrary, contained CP sufficiently (especially lucerne)
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