Modern Sustainable Forage Crop Agronomy Systems for Feeding Domestic Animals and Wildlife

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Farming Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2022) | Viewed by 8316

Special Issue Editors

E.V. Baker Professor of Agriculture, Soil & Crop Sciences Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, 503 Bradfield Hall, 306 Tower Road, Ithaca, NY 14853-1901, USA
Interests: agronomy; biomass crop production; biomass conversion; forage crop management; nutrient management; crop quality
Department of Field Crops Forage & Grassland, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: field crops; forage crops; biomass utilization and production for feeding domestic animals and wildlife; increasing forage quality; use of renewable energy crops; legume inoculation and grassland ecology

Special Issue Information

Forage crop agronomy systems are essential for feeding domestic animals and wildlife, but they must also be protective of the environment. Submissions on the following topics are invited: 1) The adaptation and potential of the targeted production of certain grass and forage crops for domestic animals (dairy cattle, horses, sheep, etc.); 2) Modern forage crop agronomy systems for feeding domestic animals; 3) Providing better quality nutrition and creating conditions to improve the health, reproduction, and production of wildlife and increasing the profits from trophy-hunting tourism; 4) Nutritional value of forage crops grown, with special emphasis on their protein and energy value, mineral structure, and palatability; 5) Elaborating the systems of forage crops production for animal nutrition in different ecological regions. The nutritional potential of wildlife and farm animals can be improved by growing forage crops in order to meet the specific needs of particular animal species.

Prof. Dr. Jerome H. Cherney 
Prof. Dr. Dubravko Maćešić
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Forage crops and grasslands
  • Agronomy systems
  • Feeding domestic animals and wildlife
  • Forage quality
  • Nutritional value
  • Legume inoculation
  • Sustainability
  • Environment

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 914 KiB  
Article
Combined Application of Organic and Inorganic Amendments Improved the Yield and Nutritional Quality of Forage Sorghum
by Ahmad Sher, Muhammad Adnan, Abdul Sattar, Sami Ul-Allah, Muhammad Ijaz, Muhammad Umair Hassan, Abdul Manaf, Abdul Qayyum, Basem H. Elesawy, Khadiga Ahmed Ismail, Amal F. Gharib and Ahmad El Askary
Agronomy 2022, 12(4), 896; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agronomy12040896 - 07 Apr 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2396
Abstract
The use of organic amendments is seen to be a promising method for enhancing crop productivity and soil health. Therefore, this study was performed for two consecutive years (2019 and 2020) to determine the effects of organic biochar (BC), sugar industry press mud [...] Read more.
The use of organic amendments is seen to be a promising method for enhancing crop productivity and soil health. Therefore, this study was performed for two consecutive years (2019 and 2020) to determine the effects of organic biochar (BC), sugar industry press mud (MUD), and poultry manure (PM) combined with inorganic amendments on the yield and nutritional quality of forage sorghum at the College of Agriculture, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Bahadur sub-campus, Layyah, Pakistan. The treatments were comprised of the following: control (no inorganic or organic amendments added); recommended dose of NPK (59:72:30 kg ha−1); half dose of NPK (29.5:36:15 kg ha−1); recommended dose of poultry manure (PM) at 5 t ha−1; recommended dose of press mud (MUD) at 40 t ha−1; recommended dose of biochar (BC) at 11 t ha−1; BC + half NPK; MUD + half NPK; PM + half NPK; PM + BC + half NPK; PM + MUD + half NPK; BC + MUD + half NPK; PM + BC + MUD + half NPK. The treatments were carried out in a triplicate randomized complete block design. Results revealed that combined application of PM + BC + MUD + 1/2 NPK significantly enhanced the plant height (201 cm), number of leaves (17), stem diameter (18 mm), stem dry weight (201.7 g), leaf dry weight (30.4 g), leaf area (184.3 cm2), green forage yield (31.8 Mg ha−1), and dry biomass yield (12.7 Mg ha−1) compared with the control treatment. Forage quality traits, including crude protein (CP), brix percentage, acid detergent fiber (ADF), and acid detergent lignin (ADL), showed maximum value with the combined application of PM + BC + MUD + 1/2 NPK. ADF and ADL are linked with lower digestibility; therefore, it was concluded that the combined application of PM + BC + MUD + 1/2 NPK can improve the productivity, dry biomass yield, and CP of sorghum, but reduces the digestibility under semi-arid conditions, such as those in Central Pakistan. Full article
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20 pages, 2168 KiB  
Article
Grass–Legume Mixtures Show Potential to Increase Above- and Belowground Biomass Production for Andean Forage-Based Fallows
by Katherin Meza, Steven J. Vanek, Yulissa Sueldo, Edgar Olivera, Raúl Ccanto, Maria Scurrah and Steven J. Fonte
Agronomy 2022, 12(1), 142; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agronomy12010142 - 07 Jan 2022
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2132
Abstract
Soils of the Andean highlands are under threat from cropping system intensification. Improved forage-based fallows offer great promise to address this issue, but research is needed to better understand the potential of species mixtures vs. monocultures to support multiple farmer objectives, especially forage [...] Read more.
Soils of the Andean highlands are under threat from cropping system intensification. Improved forage-based fallows offer great promise to address this issue, but research is needed to better understand the potential of species mixtures vs. monocultures to support multiple farmer objectives, especially forage production and soil conservation. We used a pot study to quantify above- and belowground biomass production as well as the total N uptake of grass–legume pairs between five grasses: (1) oat (Avena sativa), (2) ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum), (3) festulolium (Lolium × Festuca genera), (4) brome grass (Bromus catharticus), and (5) orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata), and four legumes: (1) vetch (Vicia dasycarpa), (2) red clover (Trifolium pratense), (3) black medic (Medicago lupulina), and (4) alfalfa (Medicago sativa) relative to the performance of each species in monoculture within two soils from the central Peruvian Andes. Grass–legume bicultures demonstrated significant overyielding, producing 65% and 28% more total dry biomass and total N uptake on average than monocultures. Aboveground biomass of bicultures was significantly influenced by the species of legume present, while belowground biomass was more affected by the grass species in the mixture. When evaluating the growth of each species separately, our findings indicate that overyielding was driven more by the enhanced growth of grasses relative to legumes. Our findings indicate that combining key functional groups (e.g., grass and legume, annual and perennial) offers great promise for developing improved fallows for supporting soil health and productivity in Andean agroecosystems. Full article
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9 pages, 1917 KiB  
Article
Improvement of Forage Nutritive Quality of Alfalfa and Red Clover through Plant Breeding
by Marijana Tucak, Marija Ravlić, Daniela Horvat and Tihomir Čupić
Agronomy 2021, 11(11), 2176; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/agronomy11112176 - 28 Oct 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2833
Abstract
Alfalfa and red clover are important perennial legumes for the production of high-quality fodder. The improvement of the forage quality of legumes is one of the strategic goals of breeding programs. Variation in quality traits (protein content (CP), neutral detergent fiber content (NDF), [...] Read more.
Alfalfa and red clover are important perennial legumes for the production of high-quality fodder. The improvement of the forage quality of legumes is one of the strategic goals of breeding programs. Variation in quality traits (protein content (CP), neutral detergent fiber content (NDF), and acid detergent fiber content (ADF)) and relative feed value (RFV) among seven cultivars and 39 elite breeding populations of alfalfa and red clover was evaluated in the study. Significant differences were determined among the investigated cultivars/populations. Alfalfa populations L-8, 10, 12, 15, and 20 were characterized by a high CP content (up to 23.47%) and/or low NDF and ADF contents. The highest CP content in red clover was recorded in population CD-18 (21.89%), while the lowest NDF and ADF contents were determined in populations CD-19 and CD-4, respectively. High RFV was determined in alfalfa populations L-10, 12, 20, 15, 16, 8, 11, and 17 (prime fodder), and in red clover populations CD-4, 8, 16, 14, and 19 (premium-quality fodder). The identified superior alfalfa and red clover populations will be used to improve the nutritional value of forage crops in our breeding program, which will lead to the release of novel cultivars with improved forage quality. Full article
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