Bijeenkomst: EGF2015
Auteur: Hyrkäs M., Sairanen A., Kykkänen S., Virkajärvi P. and Isolahti M.
ISBN: 978-9090-289-61-8
Jaar van uitgifte: 2015
Producttype: Paper
Scandinavian milk and beef production is based on high-quality grass silage. Harvesting time of grass, especially in the first cut, is the major factor that determines the optimization of dry matter yield and forage digestibility, and the subsequent improved feeding efficiency and productivity of the animals. The aim of this study was to explore how the number of harvests, three different cultivar mixtures and timing of the last harvest affect the amount and nutritive value of total yield and overwintering of the sward. The experiment was conducted at Maaninka and Sotkamo, Finland, during the 2013-2014 growing seasons. Experimental design of the study was split-split-plot with four replicates. Plots were sown with a mixture of timothy (Phleum pratense L.) and meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.). Three different mixtures of varieties of these species were used. The three-cut harvesting strategy produced higher dry matter and energy yield and higher digestibility than the two-cut harvesting strategy. Delaying the second cut increased the total dry matter yield and decreased D-value more than delaying the third cut. Differences between cultivar mixtures were observed but the interaction with number of harvests was minor.
D-value
The development of yield and digestibility of a grass mixture during primary growth and regrowth
Bijeenkomst: EGF2015
Auteur: Sairanen A. and Hyrkäs M.
ISBN: 978-9090-289-61-8
Jaar van uitgifte: 2015
Producttype: Paper
Development of yield and digestibility of grass leys was studied in Maaninka, Finland during the 2014 growing season. A field plot of 8 ha was sown in 2013 using a mixture of timothy (Phleum pretense L.), meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.) and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). The field was divided into two sectors according to the timing of the first harvest. The early first cut was taken on 10 June and the late first cut on 23 June. Four sampling points were used per sector. Samples were taken around the first cut and during the regrowth approximately every fifth day. Digestibility of grass (D-value) was determined by near-infrared spectrometry. The primary cut produced higher dry matter yield than the regrowth. A low grass growth rate during the regrowth was partly compensated for by using a long growing period. The D-value of grass decreased almost at the same rate in both the primary growth and the beginning of the regrowth period. The D-value of regrowth increased at the end of growing period. Thus the rate of decrease of the D-value of the regrowth depends on the observation period.