Forage yield and nutritional value of alfalfa at different cutting intervals
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29312/remexca.v10i4.1695Keywords:
Medicago sativa, digestibility, protein, yieldAbstract
The objective was to determine the effect in cut-off intervals on dry matter yield, leaf-stem ratio, protein and digestibility in situ in the leaf and stem of alfalfa cv ‘San Miguelito’, in the Mexican Altiplano. Four cut intervals (3, 4, 5 and 6 weeks for spring-summer and 4, 5, 6 and 7 weeks for autumn-winter) were randomly distributed under a completely randomized experimental design, with 4 repetitions. The intervals of 6 and 7 weeks (p< 0.05), produced the highest yield of dry matter per cut with 4 393 kg DM ha-1; however, they also obtained the lowest values of leaf-stem ratio (0.74), leaf and stem protein (26.9 and 11.7%) and leaf and stem digestibility (79.8 and 64.3%). In order to obtain an appropriate balance between yield and forage quality, it is concluded that alfalfa must be harvested, at cut-off intervals of six weeks in autumn and winter, four weeks in spring and five weeks in summer.
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