Effects of the different planting and harvesting times on common vetch (Vicia sativa L.) forage yield and quality under the ecological conditions of Aydin

Objective: This study was conducted in the vegetation period of 2019-2020 in order to determine the yield and several quality characteristics of forage obtained during 4 different planting times (October 16, October 30, November 15, December 3) and 3 different harvest times (March 11, March 23, April 3) of common vetch (Vicia sativa L.) under the ecological conditions of Aydın. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in the research plots located on the land of Research and Application Farm of Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Faculty of Agriculture between 2019-2020. The variety (Albayrak) of common vetch (Vicia sativa L.), which is the study material, was obtained from Black Sea Agricultural Research Institute. The experiment was formed in 2019 according to the "randomized block factorial" experiment design with 3 replications. Each plot consisted of 6 rows with a length of 5 m and a width of 1.2 m, 20 cm apart from each other. 4 different planting times and 3 different harvest times were applied in the study. The planting time applications were performed on October 16, 2019, October 30, 2019, November 18, 2019, and December 3, 2019. And the first harvest time was on March 11, 2020, during the 10% flowering period, the second harvest time was on March 23, 2020, during the 50% flowering period, and the third harvest time was on April 3, 2020, during the 100% flowering period. In each harvest period, the harvest was carried out in 2 randomly selected areas of 1 m2 in each plot were harvested through quadrat. Findings: In the study, characteristics such as plant height (cm), stem diameter (mm), green and dry fodder yields (kg/da), crude protein ratio (CPR) (%), acid detergent fiber (ADF) (%), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) (%), acid detergent lignin (ADL) (%), crude protein yield (CPY) (kg/da), dry matter digestibility (DMD) (%), dry matter consumption (DMC) (%), relative feed value (RFV) were examined. As a result of the study, the highest plant height of 139.33 cm was obtained from the 3rd harvest time April 3, the highest green fodder yield was obtained in 5202 kg/da from the 3rd harvest time April 3, the highest crude protein content of 25.8% was obtained from the 1st harvest time March 11, the highest ADF ratio of 39.9% was obtained from the 3rd harvest time April 3, the highest NDF ratio of 50.7% was obtained from the 3rd harvest time April 2, the highest DMD ratio of 65.4% was obtained from 1st harvest time 11 March, and the highest RFV of 158.1 was obtained from the 1st harvest time March 11. Conclusion: According to the results obtained from the study, when the planting of common vetch (Vicia sativa L.) is considered as an intermediate product in Aydın and similar ecologies, the conclusion has been reached that the planting should be carried out on October 16 and October 30 in the earliest period in a way that will not prevent the planting of the main crop for summer, and the harvest should be carried out on March 23 and April 03 in a way that does not prevent the planting of the main crop for summer. Keywords: Common vetch, dry fodder yield, crude protein, plating time, harvesting time