The effects of defoliating grass in winter or spring on herbage yields and ensilage characteristics

Abstract

Under Irish conditions, the digestibility in May of grass managed for silage production is sometimes lower than expected. In each of two successive years, replicate field plots were established to examine the effects of three defoliation heights (uncut or cut to a stubble height of 10 or 5 cm) applied in winter and/or spring on herbage yields harvested in May and again in July, and on chemical composition and conservation characteristics associated with first-cut silage. Swards that were not defoliated in December or March had a drymatter (DM) yield and in vitro DM digestibility (DMD) in mid-May of 6597 kg ha À1 and 736 g kg À1 , respectively, in Year 1, and corresponding values of 7338 kg ha À1 and 771 g kg À1 in Year 2. Defoliating swards to 5 cm in December reduced (P < 0Á001) May DM yields compared to swards that were not defoliated in both December and March, while herbage DMD in May increased (P < 0Á001) when defoliated in December or March. There were no clear effects of defoliation height or its timing on herbage ensilability or resultant conservation efficiency characteristics. The effects of defoliation on July yield were the reverse of those observed for May, while the total yield of the December and March defoliations plus the two silage harvests increased as defoliation height was lowered in Year 2 only. It is concluded that defoliation in winter and/or spring can increase herbage digestibility but will likely reduce DM yields in May.

Effect of Autumn Cutting Date on Regrowth, Turning Green, Yield and Quality of &lt;i&gt;Leymus chinensis&lt;/i&gt; Grassland in Songnen Plain, Northeast China

“…The aim of cutting in grassland was to gain hay or ensilage [30], thus the harvesting date and forage yield were practical significance [11]. The aboveground biomass of L. chinensis population and community were not significant after different cutting dates (Figure 1), and the height, density and stem/leaf were also not significant.…”

Physiological Effects of Different Stubble Height and Freeze-Thaw Stress on Secale cereale L. Seedlings

“…Sown in late summer or early autumn, winter forage usually harvested until midsummer The long term growth means that crops will be capable of longer periods of time for growing, sunlight and water use, which contributes to higher yields than spring crops. In general, in order to ensure the quality and yield of overwintering forage, folks usually choose to mow in late autumn before wintering (Moloney et al 2017).…”

Physiological effects of different stubble height and freeze-thaw stress on Secale cereale L. seedlings

“…The long term growth means that the crops will possess longer periods of time for growing, sunlight and water use, which contributes to higher yields than spring crops. In general, in order to ensure the quality and yield of overwintering forage, folks usually choose to mow in late autumn before wintering [ 25 ].…”