YIELDS OF ANNUAL FORAGES UNDER THREE HARVEST MODES

Abstract

Forage yields of spring-planted annual crops, oat (Avena sativa L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), triticale (Triticosecale sp. Wittmack), spring and winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), fall rye (Secale cereale L.) and Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.), were compared when harvested as silage, hay and simulated pasture. Yields were higher on a Black Chernozemic soil than on a Gray Luvisolic soil, and oat was the highest-yielding crop with one exception, that is as pasture on the Black soil. The winter cereals and Italian ryegrass produced comparatively better yields than the spring cereals under the hay and pasture modes.Key words: Annual forage, cereals, Italian ryegrass, harvest mode