Comparison of Phleum phleoides versus Phleum pratense species for forage potential

摘要

The agricultural importance of timothy (Phleum pretense L.) has led to many studies of feeding value and production, whilst Boehmer's cat's-tail (Phleum phleoides (L.) H. Karst.) has never been systematically evaluated for agronomic traits. This studyexamined and compared the agronomically important traits of P. phleoides and P. pratense. The experiment was carried out at the Institute of Agriculture, Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry in 2008 and 2009. Plant height, number of tillers, earliness, dry matter yield from 1st harvest and regrowth after 1st harvest were evaluated along with crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre, water soluble carbohydrates content and dry matter (DM) digestibility at full heading stage from the 1st harvest. Phleum phleoides fell behind in yield parameters compared to P. pratense. However, the ability of P. phleoides to resist drought stress, combined with high CP content and DM digestibility shows the agronomic potential of this species, which could be improved by plant breeding.