What are the forage grass varieties? Introduction to common forage grass types
In the vegetation composition of China's natural grasslands there are about 15,000 species of forage grasses, with grasses (Poaceae) and legumes (Fabaceae) being the most numerous. In temperate regions, about 30 or more genera of grass-family forage are often cultivated, and about 25 genera of legume forage. They are usually divided into 4 major types according to feeding value: (1) Grass-family forage. Its occurrence rate and abundance in grassland community composition both rank first, accounting for 60-90% in dry steppe and 20-35% in desertified steppe. (2) Legume forage. Widely distributed, with high protein and mineral (calcium) content, accounting for 10-15% in steppe and less than 10% in desertified steppe. (3) Sedge-family forage. Mostly distributed in shady, damp and swampy areas, slightly coarse in texture, with much silica content after flowering. (4) Miscellaneous forbs. Including other grasses besides the above 3 types, mainly broad-leaved grasses, widely distributed on natural grassland, generally accounting for 10-60% of the proportion.
In addition, forage grasses have other classification methods. According to growth duration they can be divided into annual, biennial and perennial, with perennials predominating on natural grassland. According to clump shape and plant height they can be divided into: tall grasses, whose various tillers can all form relatively tall reproductive shoots and vegetative shoots, such as smooth brome; short grasses, in whose clumps short vegetative shoots make up a large proportion and are mostly distributed at the base, such as fescue; semi-tall grasses, whose shoot composition and clump shape are between the two, with large numbers of short vegetative shoots forming dense and broad clumps, usable for both cutting and grazing, such as perennial ryegrass. According to tillering characteristics and modes of vegetative propagation, they can be divided into rhizome type, such as Leymus chinensis; root-tiller type, such as Ixeris denticulata; loose-tufted type, such as cocksfoot; dense-tufted type, such as Stipa grandis; rhizome-loose-tufted type, such as bluegrass; creeping type, such as white clover; bulb type, such as Mongolian onion; root-crown type, such as alfalfa; rosette type, such as plantain; climbing-stem type, such as kudzu, etc. According to water requirements, they can be divided into hygrophilous forage grasses that prefer damp environments, such as redtop; xerophilous forage grasses that prefer dry environments, such as needle grass; and mesophilous forage grasses that prefer moderately humid environments, such as timothy, etc.
Characteristics
Refers to the adaptability, cutting tolerance, grazing tolerance and lifespan of forage grasses. Forage grasses have differing requirements for habitat (light, temperature, water, soil). For example, alfalfa and sickle alfalfa prefer light, cocksfoot is not strict about light, and wood sorrel is especially shade-tolerant; Sudan grass likes heat and tolerates drought, smooth brome and needle grass tolerate cold, drought and trampling, redtop and meadow fescue have strong moisture tolerance and are suitable for growing in swamps; amphibious knotweed and water hyacinth can be terrestrial or aquatic; Artemisia forage grasses have relatively strong alkali tolerance, etc. The ability of the aboveground part of a forage grass to recover and grow for reuse after cutting or grazing intake, trampling and manure/urine contamination is called the regrowth capacity of the forage grass. Usually forage grasses with strong regrowth capacity also have strong cutting tolerance and grazing tolerance. Among all types of forage grasses, grass-family forages all have varying degrees of regrowth characteristics, such as smooth brome, tall oatgrass, Leymus chinensis, cocksfoot and silvergrass, all of which are excellent grass species tolerant of cutting and grazing. The natural growth lifespan of perennial forage grasses varies by species: short-lived forage grasses such as tall oatgrass and perennial ryegrass are 3-4 years; medium-lived forage grasses such as timothy, cocksfoot and sainfoin are 5-7 years; long-lived forage grasses such as smooth brome can reach more than 20 years.
Below are introductions to several common forage grasses:
Hybrid Pennisetum
Hybrid Pennisetum is a hybrid of American Pennisetum and elephant grass, a high-yield, high-quality, warmth-loving and heat-tolerant high-quality green fodder crop suitable for feeding cattle, sheep, fish, ostriches, geese, rabbits and many other herbivorous livestock and poultry.
Botanical morphology and biological characteristics: A herbaceous plant of the genus Pennisetum. Plant height about 3.5 m. Roots deep and dense, fibrous roots well developed, root system widely extending, lower stems bearing aerial roots. Stems round, each plant with about 20 tillers. Under high-yield cultivation conditions, after multiple cuttings the number of tillers increases several times over. Each tiller stem has about 20 nodes; under high-yield cultivation conditions, after multiple cuttings the tillers multiply several times. Each tiller stem has about 20-25 nodes. Leaves long and strip-shaped, 60-80 cm long, about 2.5 cm wide. It can head out; the panicle inflorescence is densely spicate and does not set seed. Relatively resistant to lodging, drought, moisture and acidity; it can still grow on soil at pH 5.5, is relatively salt-tolerant, and can grow on moderately saline soil. It has a large demand for fertilizer, especially nitrogen fertilizer.
After many years of cultivation and application, no disease or insect damage has been found. Its range of suitable regions is relatively wide; it can grow in any area where cotton or corn can be produced, but because it is not cold-tolerant, the longer the frost-free period, the higher the biological yield. South of 27 degrees north latitude in our country it is perennial, sown once and used for many years. In the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, using high-yield cultivation techniques on soil of medium fertility, the yield per mu can reach more than 10,000 kg. The growth period is 180-200 days; grass can be supplied from mid-June until before the first frost, with growth most vigorous in July and August. In Fujian and the two Guangxi and Guangdong regions it supplies grass year-round, with grass yield reaching 20,000 kg. Its crude protein content is relatively high; measured when plant height is 120 cm, the crude protein content in dry matter is 9.95%, and the content of various amino acids is higher than that of corn. When feeding fish, pigs, geese and rabbits, cut and use when it has grown to about 1 m. The stubble height after cutting is 10-15 cm. After cutting, combine with fertilization to carry out intertillage and earthing up; earthing up is an extremely important measure to ensure root development and promote tillering and growth, generally with an earthing thickness of 10-15 cm. It can be cut green or made into silage; if made into grass meal, even greater economic benefits will be obtained.
Mexican corn grass
Mexican corn grass is a new variety of green fodder-type corn with stable inheritance. Its plant height is 2-3 m, with strong regrowth and strong tillering ability; each clump has 30-60 or more branches, up to more than 90 branches, with thick stems, luxuriant branches and leaves, crisp and loose texture and a sweet taste. It is an excellent green fodder for cattle, sheep, rabbits, fish and pigs. Mexican corn grass is acid-tolerant, water-and-fertilizer-tolerant and heat-tolerant, and is not strict about soil requirements. It is suitable for planting in most agricultural areas inland in our country. Its growth period is 200-230 days, with strong regrowth; it can be cut 7-8 times a year, with a yield of green stems and leaves of 25,000-30,000 kg per mu. Its crude protein content is 13.68%, crude fiber content 22.73%, and lysine content 0.42%, reaching the lysine content level of high-lysine corn kernels, and therefore its digestibility is relatively high. Feeding 22 kg can produce 1 kg of fresh fish; using it to feed a dairy herd, the average daily milk yield per head increases by 4.5% compared with feeding ordinary green fodder. Planting one mu of Mexican corn can equal 8-10 mu of corn.
The sowing season for Mexican corn grass is similar to that of corn in various places; it can be raised as seedlings and transplanted, or sown directly. Row-to-plant spacing 50×30 cm, 5000-6000 hills per mu, 2-3 seeds per hill, sowing depth 2 cm, seed use 1000 g per mu. When seedlings are 50 cm tall they can be cut for the first time; leave each stubble 1-1.5 cm higher than the original stubble, and note that the growing point must not be cut off, so as to favor regrowth.
Sudan grass
Outstanding features:
1 Long green vegetative growth period, high digestibility
2 Strong heat tolerance, with a certain cold resistance
3 Extremely strong cold resistance
4 Strong tillering ability and regrowth ability
5 Fast growth speed
6 Relatively high sugar content, tender stems and leaves, good palatability Variety characteristics:
1 Sudan grass is an annual herbaceous plant of the genus Sorghum in the grass family, with a strong fibrous root system, plant height 2-3 m, round and smooth stems, stem thickness 0.8-2.0 cm, and adventitious roots often produced at stem nodes near the ground. Strong tillering ability, with 20-30 tillers. Leaves broad and linear, up to 60 cm long and about 4 cm wide; panicle inflorescence, loose type, 30-80 cm long; spikelets opposite, fertile spikelets sessile, sterile spikelets stalked, unisexual flowers, with only stamens and no pistils. The fruit is a caryopsis. Seeds oval, slightly flattened, tightly borne within the glumes, yellow, brown or black, 1000-grain weight 9-10 g.
2 Sudan grass has the advantages of high sugar content, strong regrowth, abundant leaf mass and low lignin content. It has photoperiod sensitivity and brown midrib characteristics, which respectively serve to extend the green vegetative growth period and improve digestibility. Scope of application:
Sudan grass cut at the heading stage has relatively high nutritional value and good palatability; herbivorous livestock all like to eat it, and it is also an excellent bait for herbivorous fish such as grass carp and bream. The feed coefficient is 25-30, that is, 25-30 kg of fresh Sudan grass increases the weight of 1 kg of high-quality grass carp; it is the main feed source for grass carp in summer and autumn. Its stems and leaves contain, in dry matter, 15.3% crude protein, 2.8% crude fat, 25.9% crude fiber, 47.2% nitrogen-free extract and 8.8% crude ash. After the flowering stage the stems become hard and forage quality declines. Stems and leaves are suitable for green feeding, for preparing high-quality hay, and can also be made into silage or used directly for grazing. The seedling stage contains hydrocyanic acid; if growth is inhibited by drought or cold weather, the hydrocyanic acid content is relatively high, with a risk of poisoning grazing livestock. When plants are more than 50-60 cm tall, grazing, or cutting and then slightly drying, can avoid livestock poisoning. Establishment and maintenance:
Sudan grass consumes soil fertility relatively heavily and is not suitable for continuous cropping; in fodder rotations it should be arranged after green-cut soybeans or wheat-type crops. Combine with plowing and land preparation, applying 1500 kg of barnyard manure per mu as base fertilizer. When the soil temperature at 5.0 cm in the topsoil stabilizes at 10-12 degrees C, it can be sown; drilling with row spacing 45-50 cm, sowing depth 3-4 cm, sowing rate 1.0-2.0 kg per mu. Pay attention to intertillage and weeding at the seedling stage, and irrigate appropriately in drought. After cutting, apply 10 kg of nitrogen fertilizer per mu to increase regrowth grass yield; it can be cut 2-3 times a year, with fresh grass yield 3000-5000 kg per mu; for seed fields, row spacing 62 cm, sowing rate 0.5-1.0 kg/mu. When most seeds on the main stems are mature, it can be harvested, with seed yield 50-150 kg per mu.