This research was performed to determine the effects of different sowing times (ST1, ST2, and ST3) and biostimulant (Pi-NFS) doses (0, 100, 250, 500 ml da-1) on seed yield components of Italian ryegrass ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum L.) in the continental condition of Eskişehir, Turkey. The results indicated that the main factors significantly affected the seed yield components except for the effect of sowing time on plant height, however, the interaction effect of these factors was significant only on the number of the reproductive tillers and seed yield. There was no significant difference between the ST1 and ST2 in terms of the number of the reproductive tillers, thousand seed weight, and seed yield. Likewise, the values of these components did not differ significantly in the doses of 250 and 500 ml da-1. The highest seed yield was derived from the dose of 500 ml da-1 at ST2 and the values obtained from the doses of 250 and 500 ml da-1 at the ST1 were in the high seed yield group. It was concluded that early sowing time and the doses of 250 to 500 ml da-1 biostimulant application resulted in high seed yield in Italian grass. On the other hand, the dose of 500 ml was more effective in case of delayed sowing time like ST2.

The purpose of this study was to determine the chemical content, in vitro gas and methane production, relative feed value (RFV), relative feed quality (RFQ), in vitro digestibility parameters, and microbial protein production of the Italian ryegrass plants harvested in different periods of the 2020 production season in Erzincan. In this study an ANKOM Daisy Incubator was used to determine the in vitro digestibility parameters. In vitro gas production technique was used todetermine gas production and predicted parameters. It was found that there were significant differences between the Italian ryegrass plants harvested in different periods in terms of composition, RFV, RFQ, and in vitro digestibility and fermentation parameters. The RFV, metabolizable energy (ME), net energy (NE), true NDF digestibility (TNDFD), organic matter digestibility degree (OMDD), total digestible nutrient (TDN), dry matter intake (DMI), and RFQ values of the Italian ryegrass plants were found to be 247.32, 9.13, 5.68, 62.26%, 54.15%, 55.35%, 4.82%, and 215.81, respectively. On the other hand, after 24 hours of incubation it’s in vitro gas (GP), and methane production (ml and %), true dry matter digestibility (TDMD) values, partitioning factor (PF), microbial protein (MP), microbial protein synthesis efficiency (MPSE), and true digestibility (TD) were found to be 105.41, 17.35, 16.42, 281.72, 2.68, 57.68, 20.32, and 59.82, respectively. In conclusion, determining the digestibility of plants via the measurement of RFV, RFQ, digestion parameters, and gas production in different harvest periods provided insights into the potential of Italian ryegrass as a feed material.