Effects of Seeding Date on Dry Matter Yield and Nutritive Value of Three Italian Ryegrass Cultivars Harvested Before Heading Stage at Chuncheon, South Korea

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the dry matter yield of (DMY) of Italian ryegrass (IRG) forage crop based on two seeding date (September 25 and October 2) in 2017 and 2018, and evaluation of the potential reason of DMY reduction in IRG cultivars grown at Chuncheon, South Korea. Three cultivars of IRG including Kowinearly, Kowinmaster and Hwasan 104 were used in this experiment. The experimental field was designed as a split-split-plot arrangement. The cultivars were harvested on April 26 before the heading stage of both years. In this study, no significant effect (p>0.05) of seeding date has been found on the DMY, whereas the cultivars and year showed a significant effect on the DMY (p 0.05) was observed for the DMY between the two seeding dates in 2018, but the DMY was significantly lower (p 0.05) was observed in acid detergent fiber (ADF) between the cultivars on both seeding dates and years. Similarly, no significant difference (p>0.05) was found in neutral detergent fiber (NDF) between the cultivars in 2017. However, Kowinearly showed higher NDF content as compared to Kowinmaster and Hwasan 104 on both seeding dates and years. The seeding date has no significant difference (p>0.05). Thus, considering the extent of DMY in both years, the mean minimum temperature during winter season could be the limiting factor for the DMY of IRG cultivars. However, based on this study, the seeding dates of September 25 and October 2 have no potential effect on the DMY. Thus, on the basis of the current DMY and forge quality parameters, the cultivation Kowinmaster is recommended in Chuncheon.