Highest Dry Matter Yield Research Articles

Influence of different organic manures on the yield of plantago ovata forsk and post-harvest yield of residual crop of digera muricata mart

Pot experiments were conducted to evaluate fertilizing capacity of different organic manures on the yield of Isabgol (Plantago ovata) plant. Experiments were conducted using different organic manures (Kultha Powder, Til Khali, Vermi-compost) and their fertilizing capacity were compared with control. The fertilizing capacities of different organic manures were assessed on the basis of fruit yield and dry matter yield of Isabgol plant. Study observed low levels of micronutrients (Copper and Iron) in post soil analysis with Kultha powder and Til, compared to the control, this may be attributed to the increased uptake of these micronutrients by the plant. This observation was further supported by the higher dry matter yield and greater number of fruits in the Kultha and Til treated pots. HPTLC analysis was also conducted to assess the chemical constituents of the test plant grown under the influence of different manures. The active constituents were found to be highest in the Kultha treated plants, followed by those treated with Til khali. Study suggested Kultha powder and Til as promising manure compared to others for the cultivation of Isabgol plant.

Cultivation and Potential for Biomass Production for Energy and Seed Purposes of Tall Wheatgrass (Agropyron elongatum (Host) Beauv.) Under Sandy Soil and Temperate Climate Conditions

An experiment was conducted to analyse the potential for obtaining biomass for energy purposes and tall wheatgrass (TWG) seeds grown under conditions of varying pre-sowing fertilisation with compost and mineral fertilisation with nitrogen on sandy soils. Field trials were conducted between 2012 and 2015. The study factors were compost from municipal green areas with I-doses of 0, 10 and 20 Mg∙ha−1 added before sowing and nitrogen II-doses of 0, 40, 80 and 120 kg∙ha−1 added each year in the form of ammonium nitrate. During the experiment conducted on sandy soils, a favourable effect of fertilisation on the morphological parameters of above-ground vegetative and generative parts was found. The experiment resulted in high dry matter yields (DMYs) in the range of 9.08–31.38 Mg∙ha−1 and high seed yields (SYs) (635 kg∙ha−1 to as much as 2397 kg∙ha−1), which depended on the applied fertilisation variant. The applied levels of compost fertilisation had a positive effect on the obtained dry matter yields (DMYs) and SY. Analysing the effect of the applied doses of mineral nitrogen fertilisation (40, 80 and 120 kg∙ha−1) on the dry matter yield of TWG under sandy soil conditions, it should be noted that this factor significantly increased the DMY and SY in all years of the study. At the same time, the response of plants to this factor of the study over the years varied and depended on weather conditions. The high energy yield (192.50 GJ∙ha−1–408.93 GJ∙ha−1) closely related to the high DMY indicates the high suitability of TWG as a new grass species under temperate climate conditions grown for biomass energy production and the possibility to harvest seeds when adequately cultivated.

Biomass yield, crude protein yield and nitrogen use efficiency over nine years in annual and perennial cropping systems

Emerging biorefinery technologies can lead to new applications and new markets for various types of crop biomass. This may allow significant changes in agricultural production from crop rotations dominated by annual grain and seed crops towards annual or perennial cropping systems composed with the aims of higher biomass yield and environmental sustainability. In this study, we investigated 7 annual and 7 perennial cropping systems on a sandy loam soil, with large differences in N fertilization. Yield of dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) was measured over nine growing seasons from 2013 to 2021. A conventional four-year cash crop rotation with cereals and winter oil seed rape served as a reference and achieved mean annual yields of DM and CP of 10.5 and 0.85 Mg ha−1 y−1, respectively, across the nine years. Continuous maize and triticale had significantly higher DM and CP yields, with 57 and 15 % increases in DM yield compared to the reference crop rotation, respectively. Optimized four-year crop rotations with various annual crops including triticale, maize, beet, hemp or faba bean and various intermediate crops achieved 51–84 % and 42–78 % higher yield of DM and CP, respectively. Perennial cropping systems with festulolium and tall fescue with three or four harvests per year achieved 63–65 % higher DM yield and 192–200 % higher CP yield (2.47–2.55 Mg ha−1 y−1) compared to the cash crop rotation. Perennial cropping systems with miscanthus and willow had high DM but low CP yield. As a measure of nitrogen use efficiency, partial factor productivity of DM yield (PFPDM) and CP yield (PFPCP) were calculated, and both varied significantly between cropping systems, with highest PFPDM for M. × giganteus and willow (114–192 kg DM kg N−1) and lowest for festulolium and tall fescue (38–40 kg DM kg N−1). PFPCP was highest for the optimized crop rotations (6.88–7.94 kg CP kg N−1) and lowest for miscanthus (2.94–4.98 kg CP kg N−1). Across 12 of the cropping systems, which included both protein crops and lignocellulosic crops, there was a non-linear DM yield response to N fertilization rate with PFPDM decreasing from 134.9 to 37.2 kg DM kg N−1 when increasing the N rate from 50 to 500 kg ha−1 y−1. On the other hand, there was a linear CP yield response and, therefore, a constant PFPCP of 5.94 kg CP kg−1 N across N fertilization rates. The results clearly indicate that cropping systems can be modified to achieve higher DM and CP yields but also that choice of cropping system and optimal N fertilization may need adjustment depending on the use of the harvested biomass, the possibilities for biorefining into various components and products as well as the economic value of the components.

Effect of Plant Spacing and Harvesting Stage on Chemical Composition and In-Vitro Digestibility of Desho Grass (Pennisetum Glaucifolium L.) at Midland of Guji, Oromia Region

The experiment was conducted to evaluate appropriate combination harvesting stage and plant spacing on chemical compositions, digestibility and its rumen degradability potentials of Desho grass. Three-by-three randomized complete block design was used to set up the experiment. factorial arrangements in three replications. The experiment employs three harvesting stages (75, 105 and 135 days) and three plant spacing (10, 30 and 50 cm). Prior to planting 100 kg/ha-1 combinations of Nitrogen, phosphate and sulfur fertilizer were applied to all plots. The chemical composition such as CP, DM, TA, NDF, ADF, ADL, cellulose and CPY and DMY yield parameters differed considerably (p<0.01). Hemi cellulose concentration, however, was not substantially (p>0.05) impacted. With the 30*105 combination, a higher dry matter yield (31.87 t/ha) was achieved. The treatment combination of 30*105 had the greatest CP content (12.37%). Treatment combinations have an impact on the properties of crude protein and dry matter in-sacco degradability. Thus, it is possible to conclude that, the treatment combination 30 cm*105 days has resulted in optimum yield and nutritive values of Desho grass under the current experiment around Adola. However, there is a need for further studies on different combinations of harvesting stage and plant spacing over years and locations to arrive at dependable conclusions

Climate Influence on Leaf Appearance and Ligustroflavone and Rhoifolin Compounds of Turpinia arguta (Lindl.) Seem. from Different Chinese Habitats

The dry leaf of Turpinia arguta (Lindl.) Seem. is used in traditional Chinese medicine as a quick-acting product for sore throat and pharyngitis relief. Samples of T. arguta were collected from 40 different habitats mostly located in Jiangxi Province, and leaf appearance traits and dry matter yield were analyzed. HPLC was used to quantify ligustroflavone and rhoifolin, the pharmacological-quality markers for this species, according to the 2020 Edition of Chinese Pharmacopoeia. The correlations between leaf-measurable traits, ligustroflavone and rhoifolin contents, and climate factors were subsequently assessed using Pearson’s two-tailed correlation test and redundancy analysis. The highest dry matter yields were found in locations S(G-mt), Q(J-t), and A(X-t). Ligustroflavone and rhoifolin contents ranged from 0.023% to 1.336% and 0.008% to 0.962%, respectively; the highest levels of ligustroflavone and rhoifolin compounds were found in locations A(X-t) and Y(B-mt). Leaf morphology was influenced by the mean temperature of the warmest quarter, while leaf thickness was affected by the minimum temperature of the coldest month, precipitation seasonality, and solar radiation. Larger and thicker leaves predicted higher yields of ligustroflavone and rhoifolin compounds in T. arguta under Chinese southern conditions, such as those in Anyuan and Quannan counties. Our findings suggest that enhancing the mean diurnal temperature range and implementing appropriate shading during cultivation can enhance the ligustroflavone and rhoifolin compounds of T. arguta.

Determination of cutting frequency for optimum herbage yield and nutritive value of Desho grass (Pennisetum glaucifolium) in western Oromia, Ethiopia

The experiment aimed to determine the optimal cutting frequency for desho grass to maximize dry matter yield and forage quality. Three cutting intervals (30, 45, and 60 days) were tested in a randomized complete block design with four replications. The agronomic parameters, dry matter yield, and chemical composition of the grass were collected and analyzed via standard procedures. The cutting frequency significantly affected the agronomic parameters and chemical composition but did not affect the DM yield. The tallest plants and most leaves were observed at 60-day intervals, while the tiller density was greater at 30 days. A relatively high DM yield (8.64 t/ha) was obtained by cutting desho grass at 30-day intervals, which was comparable to the results of the other treatments. The crude protein content decreased with increasing intervals, whereas the ADF content increased. Overall, cutting desho grass at 30–45 days optimized both the DM yield and nutritional value in the study areas.

Agronomic performance and dry matter yield stability of Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) genotypes in Southwestern Ethiopia

AbstractThe study aimed to evaluate the yield performance and stability of 10 Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) genotypes. A completely randomized design with three replications was used to assess these genotypes. Genotype and genotype × environment (GGE) interaction and additive main effects and multiplicative interactions (AMMI) biplot models were utilized for analysis. The combined results indicated a significant (p ≤ 0.05) impact on dry matter yield and other agronomic traits. Genotypes and environments contributed to 26.93% and 52.17% of the observed variation in dry matter yield, respectively. The GGE and AMMI biplot models identified promising genotypes based on mean dry matter yield and stability. G3, G1, and G10 genotypes were highlighted as stable with high dry matter yield across different environments compared to others, AMMI analysis also revealed that they had above‐average dry matter yield, minimal deviation from the regression line (S2di), and a regression coefficient close to one, which indicated their desirability and stability. Among the 10 genotypes, these Napier grass genotypes were considered the most desirable and stable due to their characteristics. H18 had a longer vector and a small angle with average environmental axis (AEA), making it an ideal environment for selecting superior genotypes accurately. In conclusion, G3 and G1 were identified as ideal genotype candidates for broader utilization under similar environmental conditions.

Effects of grass species and harvest date on cell wall components and feed efficiency of dairy cows

There is a balance between DM yield and feed value when choosing types of grasses on a farm depending on the acreages of farmland and types of ruminants to be fed. Therefore, optimisation of the harvest strategy for grass silage is important for profitable dairy farming. Tall fescue has high DM yield and can replace traditional grasses, such as timothy, in Northern Europe in a changing climate as it has been shown to be more drought tolerant. As differences in climate responses previously have been related to differences in cell wall structure between grass species and, consequently, in digestibility, it is highly relevant to compare these species at similar maturity stages and to investigate if a very early harvest date will diminish potential differences between the species. This study evaluated the effects of harvest date and forage species on the concentration of hydroxycinnamic acids in silages and its relationship to feed efficiency of dairy cows. Tall fescue and timothy were harvested at very early date on May 25 or at early date on May 31 in the spring growth cycle. Forty lactating dairy cows were used in a block design. Cows received 1 of 4 treatments: (1) tall fescue harvested at very early date, (2) timothy harvested at very early date, (3) tall fescue harvested at early date, and (4) timothy harvested at early date. Diets were formulated to have the same forage-to-concentrate ratio (49:51 on DM basis). Tall fescue silages showed greater concentrations of DM, ash, and CP than timothy silages. Grasses harvested at early date showed greater concentrations of NDF, ADL, and cell wall than grasses harvested at very early date. Tall fescue silages showed greater concentration of p-coumaric acid and lower in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) compared to timothy silages. Milk production and composition were not affected by treatments but cows fed tall fescue-based diets showed lower milk protein yield and greater milk urea nitrogen than when timothy-based diets were fed. Furthermore, cows receiving timothy-based diets showed greater feed efficiency compared to cows receiving tall fescue-based diets. Thus, the lower concentration of p-coumaric acid and the higher IVOMD was associated with greater feed efficiency of cows fed timothy-based diets compared to tall fescue-based diets.

Root systems of peanut cultivars respond differently to soil P availability to improve P uptake

AbstractBackgroundPeanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is regarded as a crop with high nutrient use efficiency, but there may be differences between cultivars. Furthermore, there is little information on the strategy of peanut cultivars to adapt to soil P availability and to what extent they explore non‐labile P pools.AimsOur objective was to evaluate growth, root morphology, enzymatic activity in the rhizosphere, and P uptake of peanut cultivars grown under different soil P status.MethodsThe study was conducted in a greenhouse in 6‐L pots. Soils with low P (without fertilization) and high P content (with fertilization) and seven peanut cultivars of different origins, different maturation groups, and release years were investigated. Peanut shoot yield, phosphorus uptake, root growth, soil P fractions as well as phosphatase activity in the rhizosphere soil were determined.ResultsIn P‐deficient soil, a higher dry matter yield was associated with longer root hairs and root length, which resulted in decreased soil non‐labile P was observed mainly with cultivars developed in Argentina (ARG‐medium‐old and ARG‐medium‐new) and the late maturity Brazilian cultivar (BR I‐late new). These cultivars adapted well to P deficiency and were less dependent on labile P. New Brazilian early and medium maturity cultivars developed less, shorter root hairs, and showed low acid phosphatase activity in the rhizosphere under P deficiency, resulting in lower P uptake and dry matter yield. Under high P availability, new Brazilian cultivars of medium and late maturity showed the highest dry matter yield (9.0 and 9.8 g plant−1, respectively) and longest roots, around 120 m plant−1. High P availability decreased root hairs in all cultivars.ConclusionOverall, the adaptation of peanut cultivars to P‐deficient soils was lower for the new mid‐ and early‐maturing Brazilian cultivars compared with the Argentinian and old or late‐maturing Brazilian cultivars. The main strategies of P‐efficient cultivars under low P availability are to increase root length, root hair length, and root hair density.

Assessment of the Impact of Magnesium and Nitrogen Fertilization on Two Species of Grasses Used as Horse Feed

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of nitrogen (three doses of N) and magnesium (two doses of Mg) fertilization on the yield and quality of fodder obtained from two old and extensive grass species Festulolium braunii cv. ‘Felopa’ and Lolium multiflorum cv. ‘Tur’ in field cultivation under dry conditions. F. braunii was better adapted to cultivation on light, dry soils than L. multiflorum; in such conditions, it produces higher yields of dry matter and protein, characterized by a higher concentration of nutrients. F. braunii fertilized with doses of 120 and 180 kg N∙ha−1 yielded higher than that fertilized with a dose of 60 kg N∙ha−1, and L. multiflorum produced similar yields after applying doses of 60, 120 and 180 kg N∙ha−1. For tested grass pasture, a single N application after the start of vegetation in two forms (fast- and slow-acting) appears to be adequate. Resignation from splitting the nitrogen dose due to variable rainfall distribution that can occur after the first cut during the dry summer is beneficial due to a reduction in the losses of nutrients and environmental burdens.

Forage yield, competition, and economic indices of oat and common vetch intercrops in a semi-arid region

Intercropping of annual favorable legumes with grains to produce forage is utilized extensively worldwide to improve resource use efficiency. To identify the best intercropping system for a semi-arid region of China, intercrops of oat (Avena sativa L.) and common vetch (Vicia sativa L.) at five planting proportions and oat and common vetch monocrops were produced over the 2011 and 2012 growing seasons in Xifeng, northwest China. Several indices were used to evaluate yields, competitive interrelationships between the two crops, and economic returns. The oat mono-crop had the highest dry matter yield (6.51 t ha−1), while the oat–common vetch intercrop, with an 80: 20 planting ratio, produced the highest crude protein production (696 kg ha−1). The land equivalent ratio (1.167), relative crowding coefficient (2.445), and actual yield loss (0.750) were more favorable for the oat–common vetch intercrop at a seeding ratio of 20: 80. The oat–common vetch intercrop at a seeding ratio of 20: 80 showed the highest values for monetary advantage index (35.51). Overall, the autumn-sown 20: 80 oat–common vetch intercrop was more productive from resource utilization and economic perspectives.

Productivity and quality of paulownia wood in the Right Bank Forest Steppe of Ukraine

Purpose. To determine the effect of application of fertilizer, cryoprotectant and foliar feeding on the formation of yield and quality of paulownia. Methods. The research was conducted in 2021–2023 at the experimental plot of the Bila Tserkva National Agrarian University located in the forest plantations in the Right Bank Forest Steppe of Ukraine (Kyiv region). Design of the experiment: factor A – fertilization: 1) without fertilizers, 2) application of organic fertilizer Vermykompost before planting (400 kg/ha); factor B – application of cryoprotectant: 1) without cryoprotectant, 2) cryoprotectant Mars-EL (0.5 l/ha) applied at the beginning of leaf growth; factor B – foliar application of fertilizers: 1) no treatment, 2) Quantum-AmiNoFrost (1.5 l/ha), 3) SmartGrow Recovery (2.0 l/ha). Results. At the end of the first, second and third years of paulownia cultivation, the average diameter of the trunk was 8.8; 12.2 and 17.3 cm, respectively. The application of organic fertilizer contributed to the average annual increase in this indicator by 3.0, 1.5, and 1.7 cm, and application of cryoprotector – by 0.3, 0.3, and 0.4 cm per year, respectively. The highest values of the trunk diameter in the experiment were obtained under combined application of Vermykompost, cryoprotectant and foliar fertilizer Quantum-AmiNoFrost or SmartGrow Recovery: in the first year – 10.5–10.6 cm, in the second – 13.1–13.2 cm, and in the third year – 18.4 cm. During the first, second and third years of vegetation, dry matter content of paulownia biomass per plant averaged to 3.0, 12.9, and 26.7 kg, respectively. At the same time, the application of fertilizer provided an increase in the dry matter content of 0.7, 1.7, and 3.8 kg per plant, while application of cryoprotectant provided 0.3, 0.6 and 1.2 kg per plant, respectively. Similarly to the diameter of the trunk, dry matter accumulation per plant was the highest under combined action of all factors of the experiment: in the first year – 3.58–3.60 kg, in the second – 14.1–14.2 kg, and in the third – 29.4 kg. Conclusions. The yield of dry matter of paulownia in the first year of cultivation averaged 1.88 t/ha. Application of fertilizer provided dry matter increase of 0.45 t/ha, and cryoprotectant – 0.19 t/ha in the first year; 8.04 t/ha in the second year, with increases by factors of 0.45 and 0.19 t/ha, respectively, and in the third year – 16.68 t/ha, with increases by factors of 2.40 and 0.73 t/ha, respectively. In all years of the experiment, the highest dry matter yield was recorded in the combined treatment with the use of organic fertilizer, cryoprotectant and foliar fertilization: in the first year, dry matter yield was 2.24–2.25 t/ha, in the second 8.80–8.90 t/ha, and in the third year 18.40 t/ha. The average content of cellulose in paulownia biomass over the years of research was 43.8% and lignin – 20.3%. The use of organic fertilizer provided an increase in these indicators by 1.05 and 0.29%, respectively, and cryoprotectant – by 0.41 and 0.24%. The highest content of cellulose (44.5%) and lignin (20.7%) were noted for the combined action of all three factors of the experiment. As to the ash content, the average indicator for the experiment was 1.1%, and the deviations of his parameter did not depend on the influence of the experimental factors (the difference was within the experimental error).

Late‐heading parental selection in orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.)

AbstractDactylis glomerata L., orchardgrass or cocksfoot, is frequently planted as a companion crop in perennial forage legumes such as alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). However, many commercial orchardgrass cultivars flower earlier than legumes, resulting in a reduction in grass yield and nutritional value if harvested to maximize the legume. Additionally, during orchardgrass seed production over years, later flowering can gradually shift to earlier flowering. In this study, we employed parental selection based on half‐sib family (HS‐family) trait values for dry matter yield (DMY) and heading date (HD), and augmented it with marker‐assisted selection to enrich for late‐heading‐associated alleles in six vernalization and flowering time candidate genes. The parent population resulted from polycrossing three late‐heading orchardgrass germplasm sources and evaluating 94 HS‐families. HDs differed by years and locations for both the parent and HS‐family populations. Of the 313 single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified within the candidate genes, 16 were associated with HD with a range of effects from 0.48 to 3.37 days to heading. An SNP detected across multiple years and locations in this study was also found in a previous study, within the intron of the Constans 1 gene (DgCO1). DMY was not highly significant in this study, highlighting a large environmental effect alongside lower variation across the HS‐families. However, parental plants fixed for the SNP within DgCO1 showed a trend to later heading as well as higher DMY.

Performance Evaluation of Improved Sesbania Sesban Varieties at Highland of Guji Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia

The study was conducted to evaluate the performance of four Sesbania sesban varieties including local check at Songo Baricha on station of Bore Agricultural Research Center (BOARC) during the main cropping season of 2019. The treatments evaluated were Sesbania sesban (DZF-092), Mancarata, Sesbania sesban (No-136) DZF-403 and local check in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The collected data includes Dry Matter Yield (DMY/tha-1), number of pruning, number of regeneration, Leaf to stem ratio and plant height. The analysis data showed that there were significant (p<0.05) difference among tested variety in dry matter yield, leaf to stem ratio,number of pruning and regeneration. The higher dry matter yield were recorded from Mancarat variety (6.87tha-1) followed by (DZF-092) (5.66tha-1).Leaf to stem ratio traits were also showed statistical significant (p<0.05) difference. Sesbania sesban (N0-136) performs higher (83%) followed by DZF-092 (72%). Seed yield was not shown statically significant (p>0.05) differences among tested varieties however, numerically, the maximum seed yield was obtained from Mancarata (3.75qha-1) followed by local check (3.07qha-1). Therefore, the Mancarata variety could be recommended for the study areas and similar agro-ecology however, further research should be done to put the recommendation on a strong basis.

Performance Evaluation of Improved Sesbania Sesban Varieties at Highland of Guji Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia

The study was conducted to evaluate the performance of four Sesbania sesban varieties including local check at Songo Baricha on station of Bore Agricultural Research Center (BOARC) during the main cropping season of 2019. The treatments evaluated were Sesbania sesban (DZF-092), Mancarata, Sesbania sesban (No-136) DZF-403 and local check in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The collected data includes Dry Matter Yield (DMY/tha-1), number of pruning, number of regeneration, Leaf to stem ratio and plant height. The analysis data showed that there were significant (p<0.05) difference among tested variety in dry matter yield, leaf to stem ratio,number of pruning and regeneration. The higher dry matter yield were recorded from Mancarat variety (6.87tha-1) followed by (DZF-092) (5.66tha-1).Leaf to stem ratio traits were also showed statistical significant (p<0.05) difference. Sesbania sesban (N0-136) performs higher (83%) followed by DZF-092 (72%). Seed yield was not shown statically significant (p>0.05) differences among tested varieties however, numerically, the maximum seed yield was obtained from Mancarata (3.75qha-1) followed by local check (3.07qha-1). Therefore, the Mancarata variety could be recommended for the study areas and similar agro-ecology however, further research should be done to put the recommendation on a strong basis.

Genetic diversity based on multivariate techniques in elephant grass genotypes for bioenergy.

The use of biomass for energy production constitutes a promising strategy that warrants the search for new sources of biomass. Elephant grass has been gaining notoriety due to its high dry matter yield and rapid growth. The present study was carried out to quantify the genetic divergence of nine elephant grass half-sib families in order to identify genotypes with greater genetic divergence and productive potential for hybridization, using the hierarchical clustering methodology based on principal components. Half-sib families were generated using genotypes from the Active Germplasm Bank of Elephant Grass. The experiment was laid out in a randomized-block design with nine half-sib families, three replicates, and eight plants per plot. A total of 216 genotypes of elephant grass were evaluated. Principal component (PC), biplot, and hierarchical clustering analyses for diversity estimation were conducted using R software. The first two PCs of biplot analysis accounted for 64% of the cumulative variation. Dry matter yield was the most important trait for genotype discrimination (0.89), followed by plant height (0.67) and stem diameter (0.61) in PC1. In this analysis, the distances between accessions were considered and there were no family links, which indicates the existence of wide variability within the evaluated families, since genotypes belonging to the same family were not grouped together, but rather distributed into different groups. Crosses between genotypes of group three and genotypes of groups one and two are recommended for the development of high-yielding genotypes when aiming at energy production.

Effect of organic fertilisation on yield and soil factor values of extensive grassland

The effect of different rates of organic fertilizer was investigated on a natural grassland with solonyec soil conditions at the Karcag Research Institute in the second year after application. Of the mature sheep manure treatments applied at 0-10-15-20 t/ha, the 20 t/ha dose was shown to result in higher dry matter yields. In addition, the 20 t/ha dose of organic manure was shown to stimulate soil life, as supported by measurements of carbon dioxide emissions, and to help better conserve soil moisture.

Effect of Change of Agronomic Practices on Nutritive Value of Hybrid Fodder Sorghum Cultivated in Lowland Paddy Fields of the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of low fertilizer rate and irrigation along with increased plant density on nutritive value of hybrid fodder sorghum cultivated in lowland fallowed paddy fields in dry zone during May to September. Seeds were sown in Yala season and continued as a ratoon crop to inter-monsoonal (Third) season. Four agronomic management packages (AMP1, AMP2, AMP3 and AMP4), which differ in fertilizer application rates, plant spacing, and irrigation intervals were tested with two fodder sorghum varieties (SX-17 and Dairygreen) in a split-plot design. The initial and first ratoon crops were harvested at dough grain stage. High fertilizer rate in combination with short irrigation interval, resulted in high (P<0.05) crude protein content in the initial harvest. AMP2 and AMP4 produced equally high (P<0.05) total dry matter yield (DMY) for SX-17 (24.7 and 20.9 MT/ha, respectively) and Dairygreen (27.7 and 25.7 MT/ha, respectively) varieties. Total digestible organic matter, crude protein and metabolizable energy yields were higher under AMP2 and AMP4 compared to other two packages for both varieties. Nutritive value was high in SX-17 under AMP1 for ratoon crop. In conclusion, AMP4 with plant spacing of 45 x 15 cm, low fertilizer rate (338-47-28 kg/ha, urea-TSP-MOP) and extended irrigation interval, could be recommended for cultivation of hybrid fodder sorghum in lowland paddy fields in the dry zone during Yala season. However, for cultivating SX-17 targeting to produce fodder with high nutritive level, AMP1 with spacing of 45 x 30 cm, high fertilizer rate (400-62-37 kg/ha of urea-TSP-MOP) and frequent irrigation could be recommended.

Оценка продуктивности и качества селекционных номеров ежи сборной

Cock’s foot as an early-ripening, highly nutritious cereal is a valuable fodder crop being demanded in fodder production. Under favorable environmental conditions of moisture and nutrition, this crop becomes a complete feed with an average energy nutrition of more than 10 MJ of exchangeable energy in 1 kg of dry matter and a crude protein content of 17-19 %. The aim of our study was to investigate and isolate promising selection numbers with high yields of dry matter, good quality of fodder with the highly adaptive resistance to various abiotic and biotic stress factors. The study material was four promising selection numbers in the breeding nursery as SN 10/18 (control), SN 5/18, SN 8/18, and SN 16/18. In three investigation years, we gave prominence by fodder productivity to selection samples SN 8/18 and SN 5/18, dry matter of which yielded 25.4 and 20.4 t/ha exceeding the control sample (19.2 t/ha) by 6.2 and 1.2 t/ha or 32.3 % and 6.3 %, respectively. The crude protein content in dry matter of the studied numbers ranged from 12.7 to 13.5 %. According to this indicator, the selection samples surpassed the control (12.3 %). The highest indicator value was found for SN 16/18. SN 8/18 was best in terms of crude protein yields summarized for three years (3.3 t/ha). The selection samples that showed high results in the experiment will be involved into the breeding process as sources of economically valuable traits.

Utjecaj konsocijacije kukuruza s grahom na kakvoću i prinos krme

Corn silage is a high-yielding, voluminous forage rich in energy but with insufficient protein content for ighproducing cattle. Since legumes have a low dry matter yield, low forage yield and unsatisfactory quality, they are often used in intercropping with cereals, which contributes to a higher yield and better forage quality than in pure culture. In this research, corn (Zea mays L.) and climbing beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) were sown in different sowing densities in order to determine the best ratio in the intercropping system of corn and beans to achieve high yield and good nutritional value of forage. A pure maize crop (75000 grains ha-1) and maize in intercropping with beans were sown: 75000 grains ha-1 of maize and 37000 grains ha-1 of beans, 75000 grains ha-1 of maize and 50000 grains ha-1 of beans and 75000 grains ha-1 of corn and 75000 grains ha-1 of beans. The highest yield of dry matter was determined with the highest proportion of beans (19.0 t ha-1), and the lowest yield with 75000 plants ha-1 of corn and 37000 plants ha-1 of beans (17.2 t ha-1). The intercropping of corn and beans reduced the proportion of neutral detergent fibers, which could result in an increase in the digestibility of voluminous forage. Based on the nutritional value and forage yield, we can conclude that the intercropping with the highest proportion of beans had the highest yield and the best nutritional value.