Productivity and forage quality of selected annual legumes and perennial grasses in the highlands of...

مرکز و کتابخانه مطالعات اسلامی به زبان های اروپایی

منو

" Productivity and forage quality of selected annual legumes and perennial grasses in the highlands of Ethiopia "
L. Gebrehiwot R. L. McGraw

Document Type	:	Latin Dissertation
Language of Document	:	English
Record Number	:	1113049
Doc. No	:	TLpq304134619
Main Entry	:	L. Gebrehiwot
	:	R. L. McGraw
Title & Author	:	Productivity and forage quality of selected annual legumes and perennial grasses in the highlands of Ethiopia\ L. GebrehiwotR. L. McGraw
College	:	University of Missouri - Columbia
Date	:	1994
student score	:	1994
Degree	:	Ph.D.
Page No	:	109
Abstract	:	Slow establishment and poor herbage yield in the seeding year limit the use of cultivated perennial C4 forage grasses in the Ethiopian highlands. Adding legumes could improve total herbage yield and forage quality of grass pastures. The yield and quality of three annual legumes and three perennial grasses were evaluated in pure stands and mixtures at different stages. Quartin clover (Trifolium quartinianum A. Rich.) and woolypod vetch (Vicia villosa subsp. dasycarpa Roth) attained maximum DM yields of 5.53 and 6.37 Mg ha at pod stage, respectively. Maximum DM yield for rueppell clover (Trifolium rueppellianum Fres.) was 4.72 Mg ha at flowering stage. Maximum IVDDM accumulation corresponded with DM, while maximum CP accumulation occurred at flowering for all species. The clovers had greater IVDDM but less CP concentrations than woolypod vetch. When the legumes were seeded with perennial grasses, average DM yield, CP, and IVDDM of two C4 grasses, rhodesgrass (Chloris gayana Kunth) and kleingrass (Panicum coloratum L.) in mixture with legumes improved by 70, 32, and 7%, respectively as compared to grass monoculture. With hardinggrass (Phalaris aquatica L.), C3 species, legumes improved total DM by 30%, CP by 15%, while there was no improvement in IVDDM. Annual legumes overseeded on C3 or C4 grasses had poor establishment and improved yield by only 10%. At harvest the dry weight proportion of the legumes was 10% for clovers and 20% for woolypod vetch. Application of N fertilizer significantly improved DM yield. In both C3 and C4 grass species, DM yield increased linearly with increasing N up to 92 kg N ha. The rate of DM increase in all grass species was similar averaging about 50 kg DM kg N applied.
Subject	:	Agronomy
	:	Agronomy
	:	Biological sciences
	:	Botany
	:	Botany
	:	Range management