Abstract
ABSTRACT: The research was conducted to determine forage yield and some quality characteristics of Hungarian vetch + triticale mixture, sowed in five different times under rainfed conditions of central Anatolia, Turkey. The mixture was sowed in the second, third and fourth week of October, and the first and the second week of November in 2017 and 2018. Depending on the sowing times, plant height (PH) of Hungarian vetch and triticale was between 46.7 and 59.4 cm, and 85.9 and 93.4 cm, respectively. Green forage yield (GFY) was between 1746.2 and 2059.4 kg da-1, dry matter yield (DMY) was between 541.0 and 707.6 kg da-1, crude protein yield (CPY) was between 80.4 and 110.3 kg da-1, digestible dry matter yield (DDMY) was between 340.8 and 453.9 kg da-1, acid detergent fiber (ADF) ratio was between 31.8 and 33.7%, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) ratio was between 44.7 and 49.5%, total digestible nutrient (TDN) was between 57.9 and 60.4% and relative feed value (RFV) was between 118.6 and 133.8. Sowing time had a significant effect (P < 0.05) on PH of triticale, while it has a very significant effect (P < 0.01) on GFY, DMY, CPY, DDMY, NDF ratios and RFV. Delaying the sowing time caused a decrease in the GFY, DMY and quality of the mixture. Results revealed that the first week of October is the most appropriate sowing time to obtain high dry matter yield with high quality under continental climate conditions of the central Anatolia.
Highlights
Vetch species are naturally found in the vegetation of Turkey and are cultivated in almost all regions
Plant height The effect of sowing times on plant height of Hungarian vetch plants was not statistically significant in the first year, while it was statistically significant (P < 0.05) in the second year
Green forage and dry matter yields The two-year combined data indicated that the effect of sowing times on green forage and dry matter yields was statistically very significant (P < 0.01)
Summary
Vetch species are naturally found in the vegetation of Turkey and are cultivated in almost all regions. Weak stem structure of vetch species causes lying down and decreases the yield and quality of forage when support plants are not available (AKSOY & NURSOY, 2010). The mixture of vetch with a cereal companion is recommended to help vetch plants to climb and solve lying down problem and prevent from rotting during winter. Hungarian vetch, which is a cool-season legume forage crop, is a drought-resistant plant and can survive in very harsh winters without being damaged by frost. Triticale is a hybrid of wheat and rye, and an alternative cereal developed for marginal areas and resistant to drought and cold. Previous studies indicated that higher yield and forage quality can be obtained by cultivation of vetch with cereals compared to pure cultivation of vetch species (LITHOURGIDIS et al, 2011; SEYDOSOGLU et al, 2020). Approved 05.19.21 Returned CR-2020-1115.R2 by the author 06.24.2C1 iência
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