Forage yield and nutritive value of summer legumes as affected by row spacing and harvest timing

Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an essential, high-quality forage used for grazing stocker cattle from fall to spring in the US Southern Great Plains (SGP). However, the lack of nutritious forages during summers limits grazing by stocker cattle. To fill this quality gap, a short season specie...

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Main Authors: Gurjinder S. Baath, Sayantan Sarkar, Bala Ram Sapkota, K. Colton Flynn, Brian K. Northup, Prasanna H. Gowda
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-01-01
Series:Farming System
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949911923000710
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author Gurjinder S. Baath
Sayantan Sarkar
Bala Ram Sapkota
K. Colton Flynn
Brian K. Northup
Prasanna H. Gowda
author_facet Gurjinder S. Baath
Sayantan Sarkar
Bala Ram Sapkota
K. Colton Flynn
Brian K. Northup
Prasanna H. Gowda
author_sort Gurjinder S. Baath
collection DOAJ
description Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an essential, high-quality forage used for grazing stocker cattle from fall to spring in the US Southern Great Plains (SGP). However, the lack of nutritious forages during summers limits grazing by stocker cattle. To fill this quality gap, a short season species capable of producing significant yield and quality of forage is necessary. A two-year experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of three legumes: tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius A. Gray), mothbean [Vigna aconitifolia (Jacq.) Marechal], and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] as a control, at different harvest dates, in response to different row spacing (38 ​cm and 76 ​cm) and moisture levels (rainfed and irrigated). Results showed forage yield by all legumes planted at 38 ​cm spacing (4.5 and 3.9 ​Mg ​ha−1) was higher than at 76 ​cm spacing (3.4 and 2.4 ​Mg ​ha−1) in 2018 and 2019. Soybean was the most productive while mothbean had the highest relative feed value (RFV) in both 2018 and 2019 (160 and 118, respectively). Although soybean produced more forage, mothbean and tepary bean provided high quality forage in terms of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and in-vitro true digestibility (IVTD). The results indicate that no single legume species stands out as the unequivocal leader in delivering both high-quality and abundant forage. Consequently, the choice of which species to utilize should be tailored to the specific forage requirements and management goals. Future research should explore mothbean genotypes to identify cultivars with greater yield potential and develop agronomic practices that effectively utilize those cultivars.
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spelling doaj-art-347c9f234bc0487980c2ea8ff1da33182024-11-22T07:40:50ZengElsevierFarming System2949-91192024-01-0121100069Forage yield and nutritive value of summer legumes as affected by row spacing and harvest timingGurjinder S. Baath0Sayantan Sarkar1Bala Ram Sapkota2K. Colton Flynn3Brian K. Northup4Prasanna H. Gowda5Blackland Research & Extension Center, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, 720 E. Blackland Rd, Temple, TX, 76502, USA; Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA; Corresponding author. Blackland Research & Extension Center, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, 720 E. Blackland Rd, Temple, TX, 76502, USA.Blackland Research & Extension Center, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, 720 E. Blackland Rd, Temple, TX, 76502, USABlackland Research & Extension Center, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, 720 E. Blackland Rd, Temple, TX, 76502, USA; Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USAUSDA-ARS Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory, 808 E. Blackland Road, Temple, TX, 76502, USAUSDA-ARS Oklahoma and Central Plains Agricultural Research Center, 7207 W. Cheyenne St., El Reno, OK, 73036, USAUSDA-ARS Southeast Area, 114 Experiment Station Road, Stoneville, MS, 38776, USAWinter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an essential, high-quality forage used for grazing stocker cattle from fall to spring in the US Southern Great Plains (SGP). However, the lack of nutritious forages during summers limits grazing by stocker cattle. To fill this quality gap, a short season species capable of producing significant yield and quality of forage is necessary. A two-year experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of three legumes: tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius A. Gray), mothbean [Vigna aconitifolia (Jacq.) Marechal], and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] as a control, at different harvest dates, in response to different row spacing (38 ​cm and 76 ​cm) and moisture levels (rainfed and irrigated). Results showed forage yield by all legumes planted at 38 ​cm spacing (4.5 and 3.9 ​Mg ​ha−1) was higher than at 76 ​cm spacing (3.4 and 2.4 ​Mg ​ha−1) in 2018 and 2019. Soybean was the most productive while mothbean had the highest relative feed value (RFV) in both 2018 and 2019 (160 and 118, respectively). Although soybean produced more forage, mothbean and tepary bean provided high quality forage in terms of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and in-vitro true digestibility (IVTD). The results indicate that no single legume species stands out as the unequivocal leader in delivering both high-quality and abundant forage. Consequently, the choice of which species to utilize should be tailored to the specific forage requirements and management goals. Future research should explore mothbean genotypes to identify cultivars with greater yield potential and develop agronomic practices that effectively utilize those cultivars.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949911923000710Aboveground dry matterForage qualityMothbeanTepary beanSoybean
spellingShingle Gurjinder S. Baath
Sayantan Sarkar
Bala Ram Sapkota
K. Colton Flynn
Brian K. Northup
Prasanna H. Gowda
Forage yield and nutritive value of summer legumes as affected by row spacing and harvest timing
Farming System
Aboveground dry matter
Forage quality
Mothbean
Tepary bean
Soybean
title Forage yield and nutritive value of summer legumes as affected by row spacing and harvest timing
title_full Forage yield and nutritive value of summer legumes as affected by row spacing and harvest timing
title_fullStr Forage yield and nutritive value of summer legumes as affected by row spacing and harvest timing
title_full_unstemmed Forage yield and nutritive value of summer legumes as affected by row spacing and harvest timing
title_short Forage yield and nutritive value of summer legumes as affected by row spacing and harvest timing
title_sort forage yield and nutritive value of summer legumes as affected by row spacing and harvest timing
topic Aboveground dry matter
Forage quality
Mothbean
Tepary bean
Soybean
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949911923000710
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