The influence of weight of ryegrass per unit area and treatment at and after mowing on rate of drying

Wright, D. A.; Frost, J. P.; Patterson, D. C.; Kilpatrick, D. J.

doi:10.1046/j.1365-2494.1997.00058.x

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Within treatment R, the relative moisture losses for treatment 0C, 3C and 6C were much lower and were, respectively, 1·00, 1·12 and 1·11. This concurs with the conclusion of Wright et al . (1997) that spreading out herbage immediately after cutting was the most important factor influencing rate of moisture loss.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

“…Consequently, in order to maximize silage quality and animal performance it is important to facilitate rapid wilting. The main factors influencing the rate of moisture loss from herbage are solar radiation (Rotz and Chen, 1985) and weight of herbage per unit area (Wright et al ., 1997). Also the herbage being wilted influences the wilting process according to its stage of maturity, yield, initial moisture content and species (Jones and Harris, 1979; Haigh, 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of herbage mass per unit area and conditioning treatment on herbage drying rate

Frost¹,

Binnie²

2001

Grass and Forage Science

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The rates of drying of herbage, cut from perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) – dominant swards and subjected to different treatments, were investigated under field conditions by changes in weight of herbage in wire mesh trays in 1995 and 1996. A series of replicated factorial experiments studied the effects, in different combinations, of intensity of conditioning achieved by passing the cut herbage through a laboratory‐scale macerator zero (0C), once (1C), three (3C) or six (6C) times; weight of herbage per unit area equivalent to 450, 675 and 900 g dry matter (DM) m−2. In one experiment, pressing the herbage to form a mat was incorporated into the experimental design. A further experiment investigated the effect of varying the proportion of conditioned herbage in the herbage mass from 0·00, 0·25, 0·50, 0·75 and 1·00 on drying rate. On each occasion the trays plus herbage were weighed at hourly intervals over an ≈6‐h period and the DM content of the herbage estimated from the change in weight. On all occasions, conditioning and weight of herbage per unit area significantly (P < 0·001) influenced herbage drying rate. Lowering the weight per unit area of both unconditioned and conditioned herbage increased the rate of moisture loss. Unconditioned herbage at the equivalent of a herbage mass of 450 g DM m−2 had a total moisture loss that was on average 1·5–1·8 times greater than unconditioned herbage at the equivalent of a herbage mass of 900 g DM m−2. Similarly, conditioned herbage at the equivalent of a herbage mass of 450 g DM m−2 had a total moisture loss that was 1·8–2·3 times greater than unconditioned herbage at the equivalent of a herbage mass of 900 g DM m−2. Increasing the level of conditioning produced a non‐linear response in rate of moisture loss, consequently 3 passes through the macerator produced >0·95 of the total moisture loss that was produced by 6 passes through the macerator. Increasing the proportion of conditioned herbage in the herbage mass increased rate of moisture loss and consequently final DM content (P < 0·001) although there was little effect from increasing the proportion of conditioned herbage above 0·75. The effects of conditioning and weight of herbage per unit area treatments on total nitrogen , water‐soluble carbohydrate and acid‐detergent fibre concentration of the herbage were small.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of herbage mass per unit area and conditioning treatment on herbage drying rate

Frost¹,

Binnie²

2001

Grass and Forage Science

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“…To develop accurate recommendations for cutting and wilting of grass silage crops based on forecasts of meteorological conditions over a period of several days, accurate drying models are required. The weight of ryegrass per unit area and various mechanical treatments are major factors determining the drying rate of grass in the early period of field wilting ( Wright et al ., 1997 ). However, environmental variables, such as air temperature and humidity, wind, rain and solar radiation also impact upon grass drying rate at any given weight of grass per unit area ( Monteith and Unsworth, 1990).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of weather factors on the drying rate of cut perennial ryegrass herbage under controlled conditions

Wright¹,

Frost²,

Kilpatrick³

2000

Grass and Forage Science

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The rates of drying of cut perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) herbage over short periods of time were measured in four experiments in a controlled environment room. Standard weights of 33·7 g grass dry matter (DM) were placed in half the area of wire‐mesh trays (0·5 m long × 0·3 m wide × 0·07 m high with 11‐mm‐square mesh) which, so as to simulate conditions in a swath, were supported on wooden frames within dark plastic boxes 25 mm above 35‐mm‐thick wet sponges. The trays of grass in the controlled environment room were weighed hourly for 7 h, drying rate being assessed by the change in grass fresh weight. Light was supplied from 400‐W mercury vapour lamps, while an air conditioning unit within the controlled environment room allowed control of vapour pressure deficit (VPD). Only one particular VPD could be created on any one day and resource limitations restricted the study to one replicate per day. The first experiment correlated drying rates under the mercury vapour lamps with drying rates in the open air under sunshine over 3 d. This work showed that a distance of 200 mm between the tray and lamps equated to 1081 W m–2, 400 mm to 432 W m–2 and 600 mm to 281 W m–2. Experiment 2, conducted with previously frozen grass, was a 4 × 4 factorial design with light intensity and VPD as factors. The third experiment (Experiment 3) compared the drying rate of freshly cut grass with grass that had previously been frozen in a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design with the two grasses, two light intensities and two wind speeds as factors. The final experiment (Experiment 4) was a 3 × 2 × 2 factorial design with light intensity, VPD and wind speed as factors. A wind of approximately 3 m s–1 was simulated using a 22‐mm, 30 W fan set in a fixed position 600 mm from each tray plus grass. Fresh grass was cut each morning of the experiment. There were six replicates of each treatment. The effect of the three radiation intensities on grass DM concentration in Experiment 2 was highly significant (P < 0·001). VPD had less effect (P < 0·05). Results from Experiment 3 showed that previously frozen material dried much more rapidly than fresh grass and as a result would not simulate actual grass drying in the field. Consequently in Experiment 2 fresh grass was used as opposed to previously frozen material. In Experiment 4, light intensity had the greatest influence on grass drying followed by VPD and wind speed. However, the influence of wind speed was variable. A wind speed of ≈3 m s–1 increased the rate of water loss from grass with a low initial DM concentration (<160 g kg–1) receiving low levels of solar radiation (281 W m–2), while at higher initial DM concentrations (>210 g kg–1) and higher solar radiation levels (432 W m–2) the effect of wind was to slow grass drying. The results from Experiments 2 and 4 also indicated that high levels of either wind (3 m s–1) or VPD (>6 mbars), when associated with low levels of solar radiation, resulted in large increases in grass DM concentration. However, these extreme weather conditions are unlik...

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“…Pinheiro & Peça (2004) said the deficit between the humidity of the environment and plant and wind speed are the variables that most influence the drying process. Forage not conditioned, well distributed and with up to 3 kg m -2 increases the drying rate at approximately 50% (Wright et al, 1997).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dehydration curve, fungi and mycotoxins in Tifton 85 hay dehydrated in the field and in shed

et al. 2013

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-The objective of this study was to estimate the dehydration curve and occurrence of fungi and mycotoxins in Tifton 85 hay. The experimental design was randomized blocks in split plots with four replications and five levels of nitrogen (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 kg ha -1 ) in the form of urea, two regrowth ages (28 and 35 days) and drying hay in the sun and in shed. After harvesting, the grass was sampled four times (0, 8, 23 and 32 hours) to dry in the sun and twelve times (0, 3, 18, 27, 42, 51, 66, 75, 90, 99, 114 and 123 hours) for drying in shed, turned over daily. The fungi were identified after seeding and growth in three steps of haymaking (cutting, baling and after 30 days of storage). To verify the presence of mycotoxins, 20 samples, composed of hay stored for 30 days, were collected, of which 10 samples were from sun-dried hay and 10 from hay dried in shed. It took 32 hours to produce hay at field conditions, with water loss rates up to 6.10 g g -1 DM -h during the first 8 hours after cutting. The average loss of water in this period was 2.0 g g -1 DM -h . Hays dried in the shed took 123 hours and the dehydration rates were less than 0.5 g g -1 DM -h due to environmental conditions. There was a predominance of three genera of fungi: Fusarium, Penicillium and Aspergillus. The largest population was the Fusarium, followed by Penicillium, at the steps of baling and storage. The fumonisin mycotoxin was found at a higher concentration and there was no difference in fumonisin concentration in the hay dried in the sun and in shed. Although it brings no hazard to animal health, the production of aflatoxin and zearalenone was significantly higher in the samples of sun-dried hay.

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The influence of weight of ryegrass per unit area and treatment at and after mowing on rate of drying

Cited by 15 publications

References 11 publications

Effect of herbage mass per unit area and conditioning treatment on herbage drying rate

Effect of herbage mass per unit area and conditioning treatment on herbage drying rate

The influence of weather factors on the drying rate of cut perennial ryegrass herbage under controlled conditions

Dehydration curve, fungi and mycotoxins in Tifton 85 hay dehydrated in the field and in shed

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