Abstract
The research series on the growth and development of timothy was comprised of a comparison between the three most important timothy varieties in Finland, Tammisto, Nokka and Tarmo in different parts in Finland. The second part of the investigation involved the greenhouse study of the development of the same three varieties together with the northern type Norwegian variety Engmo and southern type Swedish line Sv. 0873. The development and growth of the three Finnish timothy varieties had similar dry matter and protein production capabilities. The Tammisto variety exhibited rather demanding requirements for growth factors and had regression coefficients greater than one for both dry matter and protein production. The Nokka variety can be classified as a general variety on the basis of its dry matter production, and a well thriving variety with a low level of growth factors on the basis of its raw protein production. The Nokka regression coefficients were approximately one and less than one for dry matter and protein production respectively. The Tarmo variety in regard to energy and protein production is considered a modest variety which had the lowest regression coefficient of the three varieties. Tarmo variety and Svalöv line Sv. 0873 had exceptionally slow primary development. In later growing stages, however, these same two varieties developed faster than the others. The regrowth capabilities of the Sv. 0873 line and the Engmo variety were weaker than those of the Finnish varieties. The Engmo variety, suited for northern conditions, had the largest root production whereas Sv. 0873, bred for southern conditions, had the weakest. The Engmo variety’s large root production promoted fast LAI development. Seeding depth had significance only in the first cutting. The size of the regrowth yield was primarily influenced by the size of the previous cutting. The yields of consecutive cuttings were negatively correlated.
Highlights
Finland is located on the outer edge of the marginal zone for plant production
In northern Finland the varieties produced an average of 1 000 kg dry matter (DM)/ha less than in southern Finland (Table 1)
Timothy variety tests conducted in different years under different conditions provide different results
Summary
Finland is located on the outer edge of the marginal zone for plant production. A short growing season, relatively low average daily temperatures and frequently occurring late summer rains indicate that Finland does not belong to the actual cereal growing region. Long days, sufficient amounts of light, the economical water utilization of forage crops and relatively favorable temperatures make Finland ideal for forage crop production. The most important forage crop in Finland is timothy. The long days and abundant incoming radiation of the Finnish growing season speed up timothy’s development. Timothy tolerates the early summer dryness rather well and is not too sensitive to the autumn rains. Timothy has only modest requirements as to soil types, and its growth declines essentially only below the pH 5.0 level
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