Forage yield and quality of Hungarian vetch mixture with oat varieties under rainfed conditions

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the appropriate mixture rates of Hungarian vetch and oat varieties in Kirsehir province of Turkey for two years 2017-2019. In this study, the yield and quality characteristics of single and mixed cultivations of three oat (Avena sativa L.) varieties and Hungarian vetch (Vicia pannoica Crantz) were determined. Yield characteristics such as green forage and dry matter, crude protein and digestible dry matter yields and quality characteristics such as crude protein ratio, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, digestible dry matter, total digestible nutrient, dry matter intake and relative feed value were examined in the single and mixed cultivations. The result of the two-year research indicated that the highest green forage, dry matter, crude protein and digestible dry matter yields were obtained from the mixture of 25% HV + 75% O mixture of Saia oat variety (18.3, 5.7, 0.76, 3.6 t ha(-1), respectively). The highest crude protein, total digestible nutrients, relative feed value and the lowest ADF, NDF ratio were obtained from the single cultivation of Hungarian vetch (18.1%, 65.6%, 163.1 and 27.7%, 38.4%, respectively). In conclusion, with respect to the investigated quality parameters with forage yield, 50% HV + 50% O mixtures can be suggested.