Tengfei Li , Luxi Peng , Hua Wang , Yu Zhang , Yingxin Wang , Yunxiang Cheng , Fujiang Hou
{"title":"Multiple cutting increases forage productivity and enhances legume pasture stability in a rainfed agroecosystem","authors":"Tengfei Li , Luxi Peng , Hua Wang , Yu Zhang , Yingxin Wang , Yunxiang Cheng , Fujiang Hou","doi":"10.1016/j.aoas.2023.12.002","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Appropriate harvesting management is essential for sustainable forage production and improving nutritional quality. In this study, four forage crops, including <em>Medicago sativa</em> (Ms), <em>Vicia sativa</em> (Vs), <em>Avena sativa</em> (As), and <em>Sorghum Sudangrass</em> (Ss) were evaluated under two harvesting modes, i.e. single harvest and multiple cuttings. Results showed that multiple cuttings increased the forage yield of Ms., As, and Ss by 82 %–114 %, 7.5 %–51 %, and 21 %–150 % compared to the single harvest. The acid and neutral detergent fiber concentration decreased, while crude protein contents increased with multiple cuttings. Also, multiple cuttings increased the ether extract content of Ms. and Ss and reduced the ash content by 9.42 % to 33.04 % from 2015 to 2016. The variation range of legume forages' annual yield was 18.66 %–33.04 %, while that of gramineous forages was 9.42 %–25.98 %. The relative feeding value (RFV) of Ms. was higher than that of other forages under multiple cuttings. In general, multiple cuttings decreased the SOC content, but the effect was insignificant for the two leguminous forages. Correlations analysis showed a significant positive relationship of RFV and CP with precipitation while a negative relationship of ADF and NDF with temperature. Moreover, results of yield stability, contribution rate, and TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution) analysis showed that the response of legume crops to multiple cutting was superior to that of gramineous crops. Overall, the cultivation of leguminous forage under multiple cuttings can provide a basis for the development of pastoral agriculture production and animal husbandry in arid regions of China.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":54198,"journal":{"name":"Annals of Agricultural Science","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5000,"publicationDate":"2023-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0570178323000295/pdfft?md5=05bb19acda501c3447792b7ce0c29d9f&pid=1-s2.0-S0570178323000295-main.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Annals of Agricultural Science","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0570178323000295","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"AGRICULTURE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Appropriate harvesting management is essential for sustainable forage production and improving nutritional quality. In this study, four forage crops, including Medicago sativa (Ms), Vicia sativa (Vs), Avena sativa (As), and Sorghum Sudangrass (Ss) were evaluated under two harvesting modes, i.e. single harvest and multiple cuttings. Results showed that multiple cuttings increased the forage yield of Ms., As, and Ss by 82 %–114 %, 7.5 %–51 %, and 21 %–150 % compared to the single harvest. The acid and neutral detergent fiber concentration decreased, while crude protein contents increased with multiple cuttings. Also, multiple cuttings increased the ether extract content of Ms. and Ss and reduced the ash content by 9.42 % to 33.04 % from 2015 to 2016. The variation range of legume forages' annual yield was 18.66 %–33.04 %, while that of gramineous forages was 9.42 %–25.98 %. The relative feeding value (RFV) of Ms. was higher than that of other forages under multiple cuttings. In general, multiple cuttings decreased the SOC content, but the effect was insignificant for the two leguminous forages. Correlations analysis showed a significant positive relationship of RFV and CP with precipitation while a negative relationship of ADF and NDF with temperature. Moreover, results of yield stability, contribution rate, and TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution) analysis showed that the response of legume crops to multiple cutting was superior to that of gramineous crops. Overall, the cultivation of leguminous forage under multiple cuttings can provide a basis for the development of pastoral agriculture production and animal husbandry in arid regions of China.
期刊介绍:
Annals of Agricultural Sciences (AOAS) is the official journal of Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University. AOAS is an open access peer-reviewed journal publishing original research articles and review articles on experimental and modelling research at laboratory, field, farm, landscape, and industrial levels. AOAS aims to maximize the quality of the agricultural sector across the globe with emphasis on the Arabian countries by focusing on publishing the high-quality applicable researches, in addition to the new methods and frontiers leading to maximizing the quality and quantity of both plant and animal yield and final products.