Effects of different nitrogen doses and harvesting times on the forage yield and quality of tri̇ti̇cale

This study was conducted during the 2023-2024 growing season at the Education, Research, and Application Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Isparta University of Applied Sciences, using a randomized block design with split plots and three replications, to determine the effects of different nitrogen doses and harvest times on the forage yield and quality of triticale. The nitrogen doses (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 kg da-1) were set up in the main plots, while the harvest times (heading stage, flowering stage and milk stage) were set up in the subplots. Plant height, green forage yield, hay yield, crude protein content, crude protein yield, NDF, ADF, total digestible nutrients (TDN), and relative feed value (RFV) were determined in the study. According to the research results, the plant height values in triticale were 95.2-128.2 cm, green forage yield 3150.0-4124.3 kg da-1, hay yield 593.7-1483.5 kg da-1, crude protein content 5.93-9. 47, crude protein yield 43.71-118.35 kg da-1, NDF 56.56-70.57%, ADF 42.18-54.10%, TDN 31.51-46.89% and RFV 61.63-92.23. As nitrogen doses increased, plant height, green forage yield, hay yield, crude protein content, crude protein yield, TDN and RFV increased, while ADF and NDF decreased. As the cutting times progressed, plant height, green forage yield, hay yield, crude protein yield, NDF and ADF ratios increased, while crude protein ratio, TDN and RFV decreased. When the results were evaluated as a whole, applying 20 kg of nitrogen per decare yielded the highest values in terms of both yield and quality, while harvesting triticale during the milk stage yielded the highest values in terms of yield, and harvesting during the heading stage yielded the highest values in terms of quality. For high yield and quality, applying at least 15 kg of nitrogen per decare and harvesting at the latest flowering stage would be more appropriate.