I. Ecker
University of Keszthely, H-8361 Hungary
Protein supply is the greatest problem in fodder growing. In Hungary there are unfavourable ecological conditions for legumes which yield most crude protein when grown efficiently but the climatic and soil conditions of the country favour seed production. By extending the cultivation of legumes large amounts of relatively cheap plant protein can be produced and this can result in an increased amount of animal produce i.e. meat, milk, eggs etc. containing the valuable protein of importance in human nutrition.
In Hungary lucerne and red clover are the main leguminous fodder crops yielding the largest amounts of protein. At the National Institute of Agrobotany good results have been obtained in the field of red clover breeding as well as in the acclimatization, selection and growing of other valuable Trifolium species. The present work mainly deals with the results obtained and the more important species, but the less significant wild growing Trifolium species which have importance from the point of view of grassland husbandry, are also under investigation.
White clover is a most important and valuable plant of meadows and pastures. It has a high protein content, and the protein contained in its hay meal has medium methionine (4.9%) and lysine (1.4%) contents. It is also rich in carotene, about 250 mg (1000 g DM)-1. At grazing, the use of large doses of N may cause nitrate accumulation in swards, again with adverse effects on animal health.
In raising grassland productivity new herbage varieties play an important role and adapted varieties with high yield potential should be used. In this respect, breeding work at the Agricultural University of Keszthely has progressed rapidly during the past twenty years, particularly in the development of varieties for the western region of Hungary. At present, breeding of 12 widespread cultivated herbage species is carried out at the University. The main aim in grass breeding is to develop varieties with better nutritive value and winter hardiness. Legume breeding objectives include improving DM yield, increased seed production, better disease resistance and greater persistency under grazing.
For Hungary grassland is of great economic and ecological significance, being the most important resource for forage production; only 18% of the agricultural area of Hungary is under grassland. However, this will be guaranteed only if farmers are able to get a sufficient income from it. One prerequiste to reach this aim is the maintenance of good swards with a high conversion capacity into animal products. In Hungary about 70-80% of meadows and pastures require renovation. One of the methods to improve degraded grassland is direct sowing.
Herbage grasses are usually grown in association with other herbage species in pastures, but populations which are very productive under pure sowings of grass do not necessarily show high productivity under mixed sowing with legumes since competitive ability becomes important in determining the productivity of component species in mixed grasslands.
Based on habitat, soil type and moisture content, the following species of grasses and legumes have been recommended by the Agricultural University of Keszthely since 1970.
|
Tall grasses: |
Smooth bromegrass |
(Bromus inermis) |
|
Short grasses: |
Smooth-stalked meadow grass |
(Poa pratensis) |
|
Legumes: |
White clover |
(Trifolium repens) |
It has been proved by recent experiments that only a small number of components are needed in mixtures to obtain high yields. When reseeding our native grasslands, we frequently only start with one species. By excluding competition with certain species we may considerably increase drought resistant tall grasses such as smooth bromegrass, cocksfoot, reed canary grass and tall fescue.
Grassland consisting of meadow fescue and smooth-stalked meadow grass does not give satisfactory yields, although providing forage of good quality, and in the summer it is often drought stricken. Consequently it is desirable to grow more drought resistant species in order to obtain higher yields. Production data are shown in Tables 1 and 2.
In Hungary and also in the areas with similar geographical and climatic conditions, about 60-70% of the herbage yield per year is harvested from the first growth. The growth on a considerable part of the grassland then slows down in summer time (July/August) and the yield of the second growth is markedly depressed if the summer is very dry. It has been proved by recent experiences on a world scale that only a small number of components are required in a sward for obtaining high yields. When reseeding our native grasslands, we start with only one species. By excluding competition with certain species we may increase yields considerably, e.g. by the use of drought-resistant tall grasses. In Hungary white clover is not a dominant legume in mixtures for new seedings. Nevertheless, it is important in natural pastures, where N fertilization is low and therefore the N-fixing ability of clover is important.
Table 1 Hay production (t DM ha-1) from pure sown grass and grass/clover legume swards (mean of 1987-91)
|
Sward |
N = 150 kg ha-1 |
N = 300 kg ha-1 |
||||||
|
Harvests |
Total |
Harvests |
Total |
|||||
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
|||
|
Bromegrass |
5.5 |
3.0 |
0.5 |
9.0 |
9.0 |
5.5 |
1.1 |
15.6 |
|
Canary grass |
4.0 |
5.6 |
0.7 |
10.3 |
7.0 |
7.0 |
1.4 |
15.4 |
|
Tal1 fescue |
3.6 |
4.0 |
0.8 |
8.4 |
7.7 |
6.8 |
1.0 |
15.5 |
|
Cocksfoot |
4.6 |
3.7 |
0.7 |
9.0 |
6.7 |
4.1 |
0.0 |
11.6 |
|
Fescue |
3.2 |
1.9 |
0.5 |
5.6 |
5.7 |
3.5 |
0.5 |
9.7 |
|
Timothy |
4.5 |
3.0 |
0.5 |
8.0 |
7.0 |
3.9 |
0.8 |
11.7 |
|
S.S.M, grass |
3.3 |
2.9 |
0.4 |
6.6 |
6.2 |
4.2 |
0.7 |
11.1 |
|
P. ryeqrass |
1.9 |
0.5 |
0.1 |
2.5 |
2.7 |
0.6 |
0.2 |
3.5 |
|
No. 1 mixture (M. fescue/P. ryegrass/S. - S.M. grass/white clover |
4.8 |
2.4 |
0.7 |
7.9 |
5.9 |
3.5 |
0.7 |
10.1 |
|
No. 2 mixture (Bromegrass/S. - S.M. grass/P. fescue/B. trefoil) |
5.7 |
3.6 |
0.6 |
9.9 |
9.0 |
5.2 |
0.8 |
15.5 |
Table 2 DM production (t ha-1) from grass/white clover and white clover swards
|
Sward |
N = 100 kg ha-1 |
|
|
1989 |
1990 |
|
|
Red fescue/white clover |
18.0 |
18.1 |
|
P. ryegrass/white clover |
17.4 |
17.3 |
|
Red top/white clover |
16.7 |
16.1 |
|
S. - S.M. grass/white clover |
15.7 |
15.9 |
|
White clover |
15.0 |
15.0 |
|
|
P = 10% NS |
P = 5% NS |
