Description
Herbage vitamins affect performance of grazing and grass-fed cattle. In silages, knowledge of vitamin contents in herbage is desired to balance supplements in indoor feeding rations. This is of particular interest in organic farming systems. Information on companion species effects in grass-legume mixtures on changes during prolonged growth is scarce, while this is relevant in view of delayed harvests that frequently occur in practice. Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) was sown with either red clover (Trifolium repens), white clover (Trifolium pratense), lucerne (Medicago sativa) or birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), and white clover with hybrid ryegrass (Lolium x boucheanum), meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis) or timothy (Phleum pratense). Yield and concentrations of alpha-tocopherol, betacarotene and lutein were studied during two years in Denmark under a silage cutting regime. Data were collected during two harvest years in May in replicated plots. The dynamic development of compounds was investigated during two-week intervals. Herbage samples were hand-separated and individual species were analysed. The contents of alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene and lutein differed among species, as did rates of decline during 2-week growth intervals. Outcomes are discussed in relation options for designing grassland mixtures for sustainable agricultural systems.
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Do Grass and Legume Vitamin Contents Change During Extended Growth in Spring?
Herbage vitamins affect performance of grazing and grass-fed cattle. In silages, knowledge of vitamin contents in herbage is desired to balance supplements in indoor feeding rations. This is of particular interest in organic farming systems. Information on companion species effects in grass-legume mixtures on changes during prolonged growth is scarce, while this is relevant in view of delayed harvests that frequently occur in practice. Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) was sown with either red clover (Trifolium repens), white clover (Trifolium pratense), lucerne (Medicago sativa) or birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), and white clover with hybrid ryegrass (Lolium x boucheanum), meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis) or timothy (Phleum pratense). Yield and concentrations of alpha-tocopherol, betacarotene and lutein were studied during two years in Denmark under a silage cutting regime. Data were collected during two harvest years in May in replicated plots. The dynamic development of compounds was investigated during two-week intervals. Herbage samples were hand-separated and individual species were analysed. The contents of alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene and lutein differed among species, as did rates of decline during 2-week growth intervals. Outcomes are discussed in relation options for designing grassland mixtures for sustainable agricultural systems.
