Herbage quality of perennial and Italian ryegrass at different mineral fertilisation levels and defoliation frequencies
2006
Aavola, R., Jogeva Plant Breeding Inst. (Estonia)
Quality of forage is determined by energy and feed intake potential as well as content of protein and minerals (Undersander, 1996). The ability of a dairy cow to produce milk near her genetic potential is largely dependent upon nutrition, ability to consume adequate amounts of energy. Improving forage quality is one of the best feeding strategies in meeting a cow's energy needs. While many factors can affect the quality of forage, the age of plants at the time of cutting or grazing is the main factor influencing their nutritive value and over which producers have the greatest control. An early utilisation is necessary to obtain the grass suited to the high requirements of dairy cows. Besides, N fertilisation improves forage quality, increases the concentrations of crude protein and metabolizable energy, but fibre concentration may not change significantly (Butkuviene, 2004). Relation between fibre content of the herbage and fertiliser application rates is often vague. Current experiment was undertaken to study the changes in the quality of perennial and Italian ryegrass according to varied grassland management intensities. The aim is to set an optimum fertilisation and defoliation regime for the Estonian ryegrass cultivars and to explore, whether the quality of ryegrasses can be easily manipulated to meet the demand of high producing dairy cows.
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