Forage yield performance and nutritive value of selected wild soybean ecotypes

摘要

Field experiments were conducted to evaluate the yield, yield components and quality of three wild soybean (Glycine soja Sieb. and Zucc.) ecotypes (FJW-9, SDW-12 and HLW-18) as forage in Dongying Forage Experiment Station of China in 2004 and 2005. Biomass yield and nutritional quality were observed using leaf, stem and whole plant taken from five harvest dates. The results show that the harvest dates had significant effects on leaf, stem, pod and whole-plant dry matter yields and forage quality (P < 0.01). Wild soybean ecotypes included in the study produced whole-plant dry matter from 2.3 to 6.5 Mg ha(-1) at different harvest dates. The highest dry matter yield came from the Sep. 17 harvest date, with average crude protein (CP) concentration of 191 g kg(-1) neutral detergent fiber (NDF) concentration of 355 g kg(-1) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) concentration of 254 g kg(-1). Ecotype FJW-9 had higher dry matter yields of leaf, stem and whole plant than SDW-12 and HLW-18 (P < 0.05). Mean CP concentration in whole plant of FJW-9 was higher (212 g kg(-1)) compared with the other two ecotypes (205 and 199 g kg(-1)), while the mean NDF and ADF concentrations of FJW-9 were lower than HLW-18 and SDW-12. Dry matter partitioning of wild soybean plant parts was greatly affected by harvest dates. There were statistically significant differences between wild soybean ecotypes in leaf, stem and whole-plant yields. The correlation between whole-plant dry matter yield and pod yield was not statistically significant (r = 0.13). These results suggest that wild soybeans have the potential to provide forage of high quality and adequate quantity for animals.