EVALUATION OF HERBAGE YIELD AND NUTRITIVE VALUE OF EIGHT FORAGE CROP SPECIES

Determining nutritional quality of indigenous forage species constitutes prerequisite to improve the productivity of ruminants This research was carried out at the research field of the Agricultural Research and Application Center of Igdir University, Turkey in consecutive two years (2015 & 2016) to evaluate the herbage yield and nutritive value of eight forage species having diverse genetic make-up. Eight forage species such as Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis var. Geromino), Perennial rye-grass (Lolium perenne var. Ovation), Red rescue (Festuca rubra rubra var. Corail), Slender creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra tricphylla var. Pinafore), Sheep fescue (Festuca ovina var. Ridu), Tall fescue (Festuca arundinaceae var. Jaguar 4G), Chewings fescue (Festuca comutata var. Longfellow II) and Colonial bentgras (Agrostis tenuis var. Aristata) were used as plant materials and the experiment was arranged in a randomized complete design with three replications. Data on biomass yield, crude ash, crude protein, crude oil, crude cellulose, net digestible fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), dry matter intake (DMI), digestible dry matter (DDM) and relative feed value (RFV) were recorded during the investigation. Results of the present study indicated that species 'Tall fescue' (Festuca arundinaceae var. Jaguar 4G) yielded the highest herbage yield, followed by cultivar 'Perennial rye-grass' (Lolium perenne var. Ovation). While, 'Kentucky bluegrass' (Poa pratensis var. Geromino) was found to be inferior to all other forage species in the studied years. When nutritional quality was observed, the species 'Colonial bentgrass' (Agrostis tenuis var. Aristata) had the maximum crude protein and RFV, while cultivar 'Perennial rye-grass' had significantly higher RFV, DMI, DMD and the minimum fiber content, which indicated its superior quality for milch animals.