Grass Yield Research Articles

Experimental results, integrated model validation, and economic aspects of agrivoltaic systems at northern latitudes

Agrivoltaic systems, which allow the coexistence of crop and electricity production on the same land, are an integrated water–energy–food nexus solution that allows the simultaneous attainment of conflicting Sustainable Development Goals. This study aims to analyse experimental results on the responses of ley grass yield and quality to shadings in the first agrivoltaic system in Sweden. It also aims to validate an integrated modelling platform for assessing agrivoltaic systems' performances before installation. An economic analysis is carried out to compare the profitability of agrivoltaic versus conventional ground-mounted photovoltaic systems and, using a Monte Carlo Analysis, to identify the parameters that most affect the profitability. Despite the agrivoltaic systems’ supporting structures and photovoltaic modules producing an average ∼25% reduction in photosynthetically active radiation at ground level, no statistically significant difference was observed between the yield of the samples under the agrivoltaic system compared to the yield of the samples in the reference area. The agrivoltaic system attained land equivalent ratios of 1.27 and 1.39 in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The validation results of the integrated modelling platform show that the sub-model concerning the crop yield response to shading conditions tends to underestimate ∼7% the actual average crop yield under the agrivoltaic system. The results of the economic analysis show that, from a net present value perspective, agrivoltaic systems have a profitability that is ∼30 times higher than a conventional crop rotation in Sweden.

Effect of plant spacing and harvesting age on morphological characteristics and yield of Desho grass ( Pennisetum glaucifolium L.) at Adola sub-site of Bore Agricultural Research Center, Oromia Region, Ethiopia.

Abstract This study was carried out in the Adola sub-site of the Bore Agricultural Research Centre in order to assess the effects of suitable harvesting age and plant spacing on the morphological traits and yield of Desho grass. Randomized complete block design (RCBD) with 3*3 factorial configurations in three replications was used to set up the experiment. The experiment makes use of three plant spacing (10, 30 and 50 cm) and three harvesting stages (75, 105, and 135 days). Prior to planting 100 kg/ha -1 combinations of Nitrogen, phosphate and sulfur (NPS) fertilizer were applied to all plots. The data collected from the study includes morphological characteristics such as; plant height (PH), leaf length per plant (LLPP), number of leaves per plant (NLPP), number of tillers per plant (NTPP), Leaf to steam ratio (LSR), dry matter yield (DMY), survival rate (SR), Plot cover (PC), and vigorousity. All data were subjected to GLM ANOVA procedures of SAS, 2002 version 9.0. The results revealed that all morphological characteristics were significantly (p < 0.01) affected by the treatments except leaf to steam ratio and plot cover The minimum mean number of tiller per plant (NTPP) of 21.53 was obtained from 10*75 treatments while the maximum number of tiller per plant (NTPP) of 59.3 was recorded from 50*135 treatments. The highest plant height (100.43 cm) was recorded from 30*105 treatments, while the lowest plant height was obtained from 30*75 treatments. The highest (31.87) dry matter yield tone per hectare was recorded from 30*105 while the lowest (4.4) were obtained from 50*75 treatments. It is possible to draw the conclusion that, in the current experiment near Adola, the treatment combination of 30 cm*105 days has produced the best production and nutritional values of Desho grass. To reach trustworthy results, more research on various combinations of harvesting stage and plant spacing across years and regions is necessary.

Effect of mowing numbers and cutting height on growth and forage yield of sorghum cultivar Giraffa grass

A field experiment was carried out in Al-Muthanna Governorate during the summer season 2021-2022. It included a study of the effect of two treatments of mow (cut one, cut twice) and four levels of cutting heights (5, 10, 15, and 20) cm on the growth and yield of forage white sorghum variety Giraffa grass. The experiment was applied according to the design of sectors. The complete randomized R.C.B.D with three replications, the response of the variety Giraffa grass to the number of weeds and cutting heights was estimated by measuring some growth characteristics, as the results of the analysis showed that the mow treatment (cut twice) was significantly superior by giving the highest average of the characteristic of the number of tillers.m-2 , the ratio of leaves to stems (%), and the yield of green and dry forage (tons.h-1 ) were 150.0 tons of m-2 , 41.51%, 19.14 tons.h-1 , and 1.53 tons.h-1 , respectively. As for the treatments for cutting heights, it was observed that the treatment was superior to 10 cm in the characteristic of plant height (cm) and the number of pruning, while the treatment was superior to 5 cm in the characteristic of dry forage yield (ton.h-1 ) and the ratio of leaves to stems (%) was 1.55 tons.h-1 and 34.72%, respectively, while the two cutting treatments were superior to 15 cm and 20 cm, giving the highest average yield of green forage, which reached (16.41 and 16.09) tons.h-1 , respectively

Cereals-goat's rue agrocenoses in the conditions of the Upper Volga region

During 2015–2021 at the Gubino agro-polygon VNIIMZ, studies were carried out on hay-grass-goat-rue grass stands depending on the composition of the grass mixture and soil difference in the conditions of the Upper Volga region. Varieties of oriental goat's rue (Galega orientalis Lam.) - Gale, Yubilyar, Krivich and seeded cereal grasses - meadow timothy grass (Phleum pratense L.) Vic 9, awnless rump (Bromus inermis L.) Vegur, reed dwarf grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) Ural. Sowing methods of grass stands are single-species and mixed - legumes, legumes-cereals and cereals. The research methodology included phenological observations, determining the density and height of herbage, studying the structure of the crop, the dynamics of the accumulation of dry and green mass, and processing statistical data. It has been established that, on average, over a seven-year observation period, the yield of legume-grass grass stands varied within 5.1-7.9 t/ha of dry weight. The maximum productivity was noted in 2017 - up to 11.7 t/ha of dried mass. The stem density of the sown legume component - oriental goat's rue, depending on the grass mixture and the year of the study, varied from 17 to 149 pcs/m2. The height of goat's rue plants on average for long-term observations with two-cutting use was 63-93 cm, for grass seeded grasses - 78-108 cm. Goat's rue had good foliage, the average share of leaves in the structure of the Eastern goat's rue crop for all years of research varied from 50.6 to 58.2%. The stem content was 41.4-48.9%. In single-species crops, the leaf content of eastern goat's rue reached 43.6-66.8% on average for 2 cuttings, and in a mixture with cereal grasses - 42.6-69.0%. The most productive were legume-cereal agrocenoses on gleyic soil.

Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum) management strategies for dairy and meat production in the tropics and subtropics: yield and nutritive value.

Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) comprises up to 80% of the cattle diet in many tropical and subtropical regions and is used primarily by smallholder farmers. Despite the grass's high yield, resulting animal productivity from this grass is low. One of the key reasons for the low animal productivity of Napier grass is its low nutritive value under current management. Taken together, previous work has shown the current yield, crude protein (CP), and metabolisable energy (ME) of Napier grass to be 26t dry matter (DM)/ha/year, 96 g/kg DM, and 8.7 MJ/kg DM, respectively, ranging from 2 to 86t DM/ha/year, 9 to 257g CP/kg DM, and 5.9 to 10.8 MJ ME/kg DM, respectively, suggesting an opportunity for significant improvement on both yield and nutritive value of this grass. The DM yield and nutritive value of this grass are inversely related, indicating a trade-off between yield and quality; however, this trade-off could be minimised by increasing sowing density and harvesting frequency. Available literature shows that this simple management strategy of increasing sowing density (50cm × 40cm) and harvesting frequency (11-12 harvests/year) provides 71t DM/ha with 135 g/kg DM CP and 10.8 MJ ME/kg DM. This quality of Napier grass has the potential to increase both milk and meat production substantially in the tropics and subtropics, and the farmers will likely find this simple management acceptable due to the high yield obtained through this management. However, there is a paucity of work in this field. Therefore, management strategies to improve the nutritive value of Napier grass are required to increase milk and meat production in the tropics and subtropics and in doing so improve the food security of more than half of the global population living in these regions.

MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ORCHARDGRASS (Dactylis glomerata L.) NATURALLY SPREAD IN EASTERN ANATOLIA, TÜRKIYE

Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) is a cold-resistant, perennial and one of the main forage species of meadows and pastures. A total of 9 morphological traits were considered for the morphological characterization of the orchardgrass, which is naturally distribusted in the flora of 43 different locations in 8 provinces of the Eastern Anatolia of Türkiye. According to the analysis of variance; significant differences were determined between genotypes in terms of the morphological traits examined. These differences resulted in a high degree of phenotypic variation. In addition, correlation coefficient analysis showed a significant (P<0.01) and positive relation between most of the traits examined. The highest correlation coefficient was between plant height and peduncle length (0.864**), flag leaf length and flag leaf width (0.765**), flag leaf length and panicle length (0.734**) The first five Principal components (PCA) explained 70.31 % of the total variation in orchardgrass genotypes. The highest plant height and maximum number of tillers, which are important for grass yield and reproduction, were determined in M75 (77.57 cm) and R163 (27.85 per/plant) respectively. The high morphological variation among orchardgrass genotypes indicates the existence of a rich genetic population and can be considered as breeding material. Keywords: Türkiye, Eastern Anatolia, morphological characterization, phenotypic variation, Dactylis glomerata, orchardgrass.

Grass-legume mixtures maintain forage biomass under microbial diversity loss via gathering Pseudomonas in root zone soil.

Grass-legume mixtures are a common practice for establishing artificial grasslands, directly or indirectly contributing to the improvement of yield. In addition, this method helps maintain soil and plant health by reducing the use of chemical fertilizers. The impact of grass-legume mixtures on yield and its underlying microbial mechanisms have been a focus of scientific investigation. However, the benefits of mixtures in the context of soil microbial diversity loss remain a problem worthy of exploration. In this study, we examined different aboveground and belowground diversity combinations to elucidate the mechanisms by which grass-legume mixtures help maintain stable yields in the face of diversity loss. We identified the significantly enriched Pseudomonas genus microbial ASV53, which was gathered through homogeneous selection and served as a keystone in the co-occurrence network. ASV53 showed a strong positive correlation with biomass and the abundance of nitrogen-fixing genes. These findings provide a new theoretical foundation for utilizing grass-legume mixtures to enhance grass yields and address the challenges posed by diversity loss.

Adaptability comparison and application assessment of various bioenergy grasses on different marginal lands in China

To understand the effects of different marginal land and environments on the growth, biomass yield, quality, and theoretical ethanol yield of different bioenergy grasses, and to compare the adaptability of different bioenergy grasses. This study was conducted in four representative marginal lands located in Chongqing, Liuyang, Nanyang, and Beijing. The agronomic traits, cell wall compositions, and theoretical alcohol yield of nine energy grasses containing 22 accessions were compared. The effects of environmental factors on biomass yield, quality, and theoretical ethanol yield of different accessions were evaluated via parametric and non-parametric statistics and AMMI analysis, and the stability and adaptability of all accessions were also compared. The results revealed that there were significant differences in biomass yield, quality, and theoretical alcohol yield among different species at the same trial site, and the same species also showed large differences between trial sites. Grasses exhibited divergent adaptability across trial sites, such as Saccharum arundinaceum and Miscanthus floridulus were sensitive to low temperatures and could not overwinter normally in Beijing. The biomass yield of Miscanthus sacchariflorus declined as the latitude decreased. Miscanthus × giganteus, Miscanthus lutarioriparius × sinensis, and Panicum virgatum exhibited greater resistance to environmental changes, indicating superior stability and environmental adaptability.

Изменение состава фитоценоза долголетнего сенокоса в зависимости от применения приемов улучшения

Long-term studies on the effectiveness of using various doses of lime and mineral fertilizer in haymaking show their significant impact on the yield and composition of the grass stand, depending on the mode of use of the accumulated mass. Thus, in a protected area where the grass is not mowed, a grass stand with a predominance of reed grass has formed, regardless of the dose of lime applied. In the area where the grass stand is not fertilized and is mowed annually, a legume-grass phytocenosis has formed with a predominance of low-grass species with a yield of 1.5–2.5 t/ha of dry matter. In the area where the green mass is annually mowed and fertilizers are applied, a grass stand with a predominance of foxtail has formed, while the share of forbs is 2.6–10.3% depending on the dose of lime; leguminous species have practically disappeared. The yield of grass stand against the background of N120P60K90 is 2.7–4.2 t/ha of dry matter.

Проблема аэробной устойчивости при заготовке и использовании кукурузного силоса

One of the most important problems of preserving corn silage is its aerobic stability in the process of harvesting, storage and using. It depends on the term and mowing height of plants, the milling degree, and the compaction of ramming, the hermetic nature of shelter, the duration of storage and the sampling rate during feeding. Spoilage of silage from aerobic instability leads to large losses of feed and the acquisition of properties dangerous to animal health. The best time for harvesting corn for silage is the phase of waxy ripeness of grain, in which plants contain the optimal amount of dry matter for silage and the maximum yield and concentration of nutrients in it. To increase the nutritional value of corn silage, the mowing height of plants is increased. However, the decrease in the yield of grass stand should be taken into account. The milling degree of plants varies depending on the moisture content of the raw material: the higher the moisture content, the larger particles size of silage mass should be. However, their largest size should not exceed 20 mm. To exclude aerobic instability, the silage mass must be compactly packed and sealed. Unsealing of the silage for feeding assumes such sampling rates that exclude aerobic spoilage. They are differentiated depending on the season of feed use: large when feeding silage in summer and smaller in winter.

Fertilization of Annual Grasses on Gray Forest Soils of the Vladimir Opole

In a long-term stationary experiment, the effect of fertilizers on the yield of annual grasses (vetch and pea mixtures) and the nitrifying activity of gray forest soils were studied. For 8 years, both without the use of fertilizers and with them, the yield of herbs changed by 1.72–1.88 times. It was found that the use of nitrogen of mineral fertilizers provided 88.3% of the total variation in their yield, the aftereffect of manure – 8.1, the aftereffect of РК fertilizers – 1.8%. For 7 out of 8 years, a high degree of correlation between the yield of grasses and the reserves of N-NO3 in the 0–40 cm layer of soil in the phase of grass germination was revealed. At the same time, the minimum reserves of N-NO3 were formed at a hydrothermal coefficient for the growing season equal to 1.21. The use of fertilizers, increased moisture content and temperatures during the growing season of grasses led to an increase in the nitrification activity of gray forest soil. It is proposed to evaluate the participation of mobile forms of nitrogen in plant nutrition in relation to the content of N-NO3 in the soil to the content of N-NH4 in the water extract (1 : 1). The values of this parameter in the phases of germination and harvesting of grasses confirmed the determining role of N-NO3 reserves in the nutrition of annual grasses. The difference coefficients of the use of nitrogen Naa in doses N60 and N75, which ranged from 40 to 49%, were calculated. An algorithm for calculating the size of the accumulation of N-NO3 during the growing season of grasses is proposed. In nitrogen-fertilized variants, a good coincidence of the utilization coefficients of accumulating N-NO3 reserves with the difference ones has been established.

Performance Of Marvel Grass Varieties Under Different Levels Of Nitrogen In Irrigated Condition Of The Middle Gujarat Agroclimatic Zone Of Gujarat

Main Forage Research Station, ICAR Unit 9, Anand Agricultural University located in the middle agroclimatic zone of Gujarat India, has different Agroclimatic zone with a different agricultural pattern. Most of the farmers are doing agriculture as a first enterprise and dairy as a second one. The demand for fodder is higher in the different zone of Gujarat state. To improve cultural practices and reduced the shortfall of fodder with highly nutritive fodder these studies were carried out to evaluate the effect of the level of nitrogen on different marvel grass varieties in middle Gujarat. Continuous three years of experimentation on marvel grass, results revealed that marvel grass varieties did not show significant effects on growth, yield attributes, and yield as well as quality parameters. A perusal of experiment data revealed that application of 60 kg N/ha (30 kg N/ha at the time of transplanting or immediately after cutting and 30 kg N/ha at 30 DAS/ 30 Days after each cutting) noted higher growth parameters (height and several tillers per meter row length) also reported higher total green fodder yield and quality of marvel grass as well as higher net return and benefit-cost ratio.

Effect of Biochar Application and Mineral Fertilization on Biomass Production and Structural Carbohydrate Content in Forage Plant Mixture

Biochar, a fine-grained porous material, exhibits properties that improve soil quality on agricultural land. Biochar, in combination with mineral fertilizers in perennial mixed crops, has so far not been studied for its effect on biomass production and feed value. The study, conducted in 2021 and 2022, aims to investigate the impact of different biochar application rates (alone and in combination with high and low NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) fertilizer dosages) on the yield and structural carbohydrate content in grass–legume mixtures. Thus, a two-factorial pot study consisting of 36 pots was established in 2021. The study was set up in a randomized block design with nine fertilization treatments in four replicates. The factors studied were the rate of biochar (0, 5, and 10 Mg ha−1) and the rate of NPK mineral fertilizer application (0, 105, and 185 kg ha−1). First, biochar was applied and then the grass–legume mixture was sown, consisting of Lolium perenne L., Festuca arundinacea Schreb., Dectylis glomerata L., Lolium multiflorum Lam., Phleum pratense L., Festuca rubra L., Festuca ovina L., Poa pratensis L., Trifolium repens L., and Medicago sativa L. In both years of the study, during the growing season, plant biomass was harvested three times to assess biomass production and structural carbohydrate content. In the collected samples, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and acid detergent lignin (ADL) were examined, and, based on these, dry matter digestibility (DDM), dry matter intake (DMI), and relative feed value (RFV) were calculated. Compared to the control, the biochar addition increased the biomass production by 6.7–14.4% in the first year and by 49–59% in the second year after application. The addition of biochar in combination with NPK fertilization caused an increase in biomass production—22–45% in the first year and 71–136% in the second year after application. The structural carbohydrate content in the mixture depended neither on the biochar dose nor on fertilization. On the other hand, the most significant differences for the studied parameters were observed due to different harvest dates.

Effect of Bio-fertilizer, Humic Acid and Sea Algae Extract on Growth and yield of Sudan grass (Sorghum sudanese L.)

A field experiment was conducted during the spring agricultural season of 2021 in two locations, the first in Al-Tilga (10 km northwest of Mosul) and the second in Al-Shuhada (35 km west of Mosul). The experiment was applied according to a randomized complete block design (R.C.B.D.) with a split-plot system. The levels of bio-fertilizer occupied the main plots, and the levels of humic acid and seaweed extract (Alggren-Twin) were secondary plots in three replications. The two factors of the study were as follows: The first factor was biofertilizer (Bactofed) at two levels of zero and 750 ml / 1000 L of water/ha. The second factor is four levels of two levels of seaweed extract with the trade name (Algaren Twin): 3 and 6 ml /L of water. The third and fourth levels are 8 and 16 kg/ha of humic acid. The results of the study were as follows: The addition of bio-fertilizer caused a significant increase in plant height, the yield of fresh and dry forage, the number of dahlias per plant, the weight of panicles grains, and grain yield of individual and total plants in both locations. Also, the addition of seaweed extract and humic acid increased in most of the studied traits to achieve the highest average for most traits and in both locations at the level of humic acid 16 kg/ha. Keywords: Boi-fertilizer; Humic acid; Sea Algae; Sudn agrass; Sorghum sudanense L.

Small-sized unit for the restoration of herbage in mountain meadows and pastures

BACKGROUND: The results of RD for the laboratory prototype of the unit for grass seeds oversowing on mountain slopes, which can increase labor efficiency and mountain forage lands yield by 20-25%, are presented.
 AIMS: The developed laboratory prototype of a block module based on the Feng Shou 180 mini-tractor for surface oversowing of grass seeds, providing with an accelerated increase in the yield of perennial grasses and soil resistance to water and wind erosion.
 METHODS: Technical expertise and testing of the unit and technology were carried out in the mountainous zone of the Republic of North Ossetia Alania (Dargava basin, the base station of the Institute) at an altitude of 1540 meters above sea level. The indicators of the test conditions and functional performance of the unit were determined according to the OST 10.5.1-2000 industry standard. Technical examination of the unit was carried out according to the OST 10.2.1-97. Surface sowing of grass seeds was carried out according to GOST 31345-2017. The subject of research included the technology of grass seeds oversowing, the design of the unit and working bodies: pendular sowing machines, seeding rates and method of sowing.
 METHODS: The laboratory prototype of the small-sized unit based on the Feng Shou 180 mini-tractor for surface oversowing of grass seeds has been developed and manufactured. The block module is a hinged structure with a two-row arrangement of containers for grass seeds and with pendular sowing machines. In the design of the small-sized mountain unit, motion across the slope from top to bottom is performed with a shuttle method with rolling of the sown seeds by press wheels. The grass was oversown on a rarefied section of the northern slope with a slope angle of 1316 on the Sugsadtanrag terrain.
 CONCLUSIONS: The practical application of the small-sized unit based on the Feng Shou 180 mini-tractor for surface oversowing of grass seeds with their subsequent pressing in areas in highland and piedmont areas ensures detaining of degradation processes of slope areas, accelerated increase in yield, quality and quantity of perennial grasses, improves soil resistance to water and wind erosion.

Fuzzy Logic and Artificial Neural Network Perceptron Multi-Layer and Radial Basis in Estimating Marandu Grass Yield in Integrated Systems

ABSTRACT The integrated crop-livestock-forest (ICLF) system integrates different components of animal husbandry. The implementation of this system aims at sustainability, seeking to exploit the area as much as possible, in addition to reducing the impact on the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil. With technological advances and numerous variables, fuzzy logic, and artificial neural networks (ANNs) have been used for data classification and estimation. This study aims to estimate the Marandu grass yield in integrated systems using the input, volume of rainfall, and experimental period. A performance of approximately 0.077 was observed for the mean square error (MSE), and the radial basis in estimation (RBR) network had an error of 0.255%, which is much lower than that of the multi-layer perceptron (MLP) network and methodology based on fuzzy logic, with errors of 2.713 and 10.840%, respectively, between the obtained and expected output. This indicates that the quality of the grass was better with one or three eucalyptus lines in the ICLF system and demonstrates the application efficiency of the model with a tool for forecasting the Marandu grass yield in the studied soil and climate conditions.

Investigation on the forage utilization of indica and japonica weedy rice with strong ratooning ability

AbstractThere was few research on the utilization and development of weedy rice. Some weedy rice has remarkable good characteristics as forage in some soil which is difficult to plant crops and pastures. In this study, two weedy rice lines of japonica and indica subspecies with high ratooning ability (Xijing, japonica; Gaoxian, indica) were used to study the possibility of their forage utilization and related suitable cultivation methods. Three different stubble heights of first season were set in 2018 and 2019, and three cutting times of first season (heading stage, milk stage, and waxy ripening stage) were set in 2019. The ratoon grass was harvested 40 days after the first season harvest. For japonica weedy rice line Xijing, its grass yield was significantly lower than that of indica weedy rice line Gaoxian. The dry matter yield of first season grass plus ratoon grass of Gaoxian with the first season harvested at milk stage was the highest of all. The total digestible dry matter yield (first season grass plus ratoon grass) of Gaoxian with 15 cm cutting stubble of first season was higher than those of stubble 30 and 45 cm treatments (p < .05). In conclusions, indica weedy rice line Gaoxian, with high biomass of first season and good ratooning ability, had the good potential for forage development by harvesting first season at milk stage with 15 cm stubble height.

The Impact of Sowing Time and Biostimulant Application on Seed Production in Italian Ryegrass

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.

Spatial-Temporal Pattern Analysis of Grassland Yield in Mongolian Plateau Based on Artificial Neural Network

Accurate and timely estimation of grass yield is crucial for understanding the ecological conditions of grasslands in the Mongolian Plateau (MP). In this study, a new artificial neural network (ANN) model was selected for grassland yield inversion after comparison with multiple linear regression, K-nearest neighbor, and random forest models. The ANN performed better than the other machine learning models. Simultaneously, we conducted an analysis to examine the spatial and temporal characteristics and trends of grass yield in the MP from 2000 to 2020. Grassland productivity decreased from north to south. Additionally, 92.64% of the grasslands exhibited an increasing trend, whereas 7.35% exhibited a decreasing trend. Grassland degradation areas were primarily located in Inner Mongolia and the central Gobi region of Mongolia. Grassland productivity was positively correlated with land surface temperature and precipitation, although the latter was less sensitive than the former in certain areas. These findings indicate that ANN model-based grass yield estimation is an effective method for grassland productivity evaluation in the MP and can be used in a larger area, such as the Eurasian Steppe.

The Effect of Long-Term Use of Organic and Mineral Fertilizers on the Agrochemical Properties of Sod-Podzolic Soil and the Productivity of Perennial Grasses in Forage Culture in the European Nortn

In a long-term stationary field experiment on sod-podzolic soil, the effectiveness of organic and mineral fertilizers and their effect on soil properties, yield and quality of perennial grasses in the feed six-field crop rotation was established. It was determined that the combined use of fertilizers most effectively affected the increase in soil fertility and the productivity of the clover-timothy mixture. The content of humus increased by 0.4–0.6%, mobile phosphorus by 70–150 mg/kg, metabolic and hydrolytic acidity decreased. The complex application of fertilizers, especially in high doses, most significantly increased the yield and quality of perennial grasses.