A Comparative Study on the Characteristics of Seeds and Phytomass of New High-Potential Fodder and Energy Crops

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to capitalise on the potential of non-traditional plant species in the Republic of Moldova from the families Asteraceae (cup plant Silphium perfoliatum; cardoon Cynara cardunculus), Fabaceae (fodder galega Galega orientalis, sand sainfoin Onobrychis arenaria), Hydrophylaceae (phacelia Phacelia tanacetifolia), Malvaceae (curly mallow Malva crispa; Virginia mallow Sida hermaphrodita) and Poaceae (perennial sorghum Sorghum almum, pearl millet Pennisetum glaucum). The study presents the research results on the seed properties (dimensional parameters, structure, friability, apparent specific mass, mass of 1000 seeds) and on the phytomass quality of the above-mentioned plants. The obtained results demonstrate that the criterion of dimensional proportionality Kdp, proposed in this paper, effectively reflects the structure of the seeds; the seeds of new crops (except phacelia) have high friability (angle of repose α ≤ 33° and angle of static friction on steel α1 ≤ 27.8°, on wood α1 = 34.7°, on enamelled surface α1 = 30°). The natural fodder from the researched species is characterised by a crude protein content of 9.0–23.4%, dry matter digestibility of 56.0–66.5%, digestible energy load of 11.16–12.95 MJ kg−1, metabolizable energy of 9.16–10.63 MJ kg−1, net energy for lactation of 5.18–6.76 MJ kg−1, and relative feed value RFV = 74–129. The biochemical biomethane potential from studied vegetal substrates is 297–353 l kg−1 VS.