Determi̇nation of silage yield and quality of mixtures of berseem clover and annual ryegrass

The amount of roughage produced in our country is insufficient to meet the needs of the existing livestock. This situation constitutes a major problem for the livestock sector. In order to increase production in fodder crops, it is important not only to increase the cultivation area of fodder crops, but also to increase the yield obtained from the unit area. One of the systems that can be carried out for this purpose is the mixed cropping system applied in forage crops cultivation. This study was conducted to determine the silage yield and quality of Berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) and Annual grass (Italian ryegrass) (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) mixtures under Bilecik ecological conditions in 2022. In the study, 6 treatments of Berseem clover (I.U.) and Annual grass (T.Y.Ç.) were tested as lean and 4 different mixture ratios (80% I.U. + 20% T.Y.Ç., 60% I.U. + 40% T.Y.Ç., 40% I.U. + 60% T.Y.Ç. and 20% I.U. + 80% T.Y.Ç.). The experiment was established according to the randomized block design with 3 replications. The plants harvested from the study plots were cut into pieces of about 2 cm in length and silaged in vacuum bags considering the mixture ratios and stored at 25±2 °C. According to the results obtained from the study, silage yield varied between 1514.0 - 2033 kg/da, crude protein yield 241.7 - 358.5 kg/da, relative feed value 96.91 - 146.87, dry matter rate 31.4 - 36.5%, fleig score 83.89 - 93.32 and pH 4.31 - 4.66. Lactic, acetic, succinic, propionic and citric acid values of silages varied between 1.57 - 2.85%, 0.160 - 0.270, 0.035 - 0.079, 0.378 - 0.810 and 0.158 - 0.289, respectively. Considering all these characteristics, it can be suggested that the most suitable mixture for the ecological conditions of Bilecik was 40% annual grass mixed with Berseem clover.