التفاصيل البيبلوغرافية
| العنوان: |
Forage production and water use efficiency of 30 species used in the Australian dairy industry. |
| المؤلفون: |
Neal, J. S., Fulkerson, W. S., Greenwood, K. |
| المصدر: |
Journal of Animal Science; Aug2006 Supplement 1, Vol. 84, p255-255, 1/3p |
| مصطلحات موضوعية: |
WATER efficiency, DAIRY industry, CENCHRUS purpureus, FORAGE plants, FORAGE, TALL fescue, WHITE clover, PLANT-water relationships |
| مصطلحات جغرافية: |
AUSTRALIA |
| مستخلص: |
The Australia dairy industry is the largest agricultural user of irrigation water. The recent drought and government policy to increase environmental flows in rivers have highlighted the importance of maximizing forage production from available water. Forage production accounts for up to 35% of variability in farm profit. The dominant forage used in Australia is perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne); however its poor persistence has led dairy farmers to question its suitability and look for alternative species. In this context, thirty forage species suitable for dairy cows were evaluated to assess dry matter production (DM), water use efficiency (WUE) and forage quality. Besides an optimal irrigation treatment, to maximize DM, two other irrigation treatments were imposed to investigate how different species responded to increasing water stress. Irrigation was initiated once the optimum treatment had used 30mm of water from the soil profile. At this time the optimum treatment was refilled to field capacity (100%), the two water stress treatments received 66% and 33%, of the water applied to the optimum treatment. The WUE was calculated from the rainfall, water used from irrigation and changes in the soil moisture profile. Each species was harvested at the optimal stage of growth and was fertilized to replace nutrients removed. Annual DM ranged from 8 to 31t DM/ha, with maize (Zea mays) having the highest yield. The perennial grasses, tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea), perennial ryegrass, prairie grass (Bromus wildenowii) and kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum) had the next highest yields in the range of 27 to 28t DM/ha. WUE of the forages varied significantly from 12 to 59 kg DM/ha/mm, and depended on the season. In winter the WUE of perennial ryegrass was the highest at 37 kg DM/ha/mm, but it was one of the lowest in summer of only 20kg DM/ha/mm. Maize had the highest WUE during the summer of 59kg DM/ha/mm. The response to moisture stress differed significantly between species, the loss in yield in summer ranged from a low of 33% for lucerne (Medicago sativa) to a high of 82% for white clover (Trifolium repens). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
|
Copyright of Journal of Animal Science is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| قاعدة البيانات: |
Complementary Index |
