Yield and Fodder Quality of some Annual Plants Cultivated for Fresh Matter

Abstract

SUMMARY In the selection of fodder plants (annual and peren nial) which compose a structure of fodder crops, besides their biological and technolo gical characteristics and the yield potential, farmer should also know the quality of the fodder t hat they can provide. The quality of fodder depends on the ratio of some constituents (hemi cel lulose, cellulose and lignin) in the cell walls, the ratio in the cell content of fodder and its chemical composition (Moore et al ., 2007). High cell content and a low lignin content of fodde r provide it a high digestibility. A valuable chemical composition of fodder provided by as high as possible content in crude protein associated with a high digestibility determines a p roper nutritive value of fodder. In order to response to such kind of problems, in the frame of Didactic Station Cojocna, an experiment with annual crops for fresh matter (oat and pea as control; triticale and pea; rape; millet; sorghum x Sudan grass hybrid) was organized. Mixed crops of oat and pea and of triticale and pea yielded the best harvests both from the quantit ative (15.65 t·ha -1 and 17.35 t·ha -1 dry matter‐DM) and from the qualitative (18.58% and 16.32% crude protein, respectively 55.07% and 51.79% cell content) point of view. An importan t role in the obtaining of these yields had some technological particularities such as the rati o of species in the seed mixtures at sowing (31% in oat and 69% in pea, respectively 33% in tri ticale and 67% in pea) and the quantity of seeds per hectare. At harvesting in the mixture wit h oat the ratio of the two species was 5% in oat and 95% in pea and in the mixture with tritical e the ratio was 72% in pea and 28% in triticale. The differences in yield of the other sp ecies in comparison with control were not significantly and as quality the fodder had a lower content in crude protein (11.27% in millet and 12.89% in rape) and a lower content in lignin ( 3.49% in millet and 3.90% in rape). A particular interest presents sorghum x Sudan grass hybrid. This hybrid can provide a second cycle of harvest and therefore a better distributio n of fresh matter yield (I st cycle‐9.71 t·ha -1 DM and II nd cycle‐4.58 t·ha -1 DM).