1995 Cereal Forage Trial

Methods: In 1995, the cereal forage trials at Kimberly consisted of 5 varieties, replicated 3
times for each of 5 harvest dates. Harvesting started at head emergence and continued weekly for five weeks. Green weights were taken along with quality samples. The samples were evaluated using Near-Infra Red Spectrograph (NIRS) by Oregon State University. The samples were also placed in a fistulated cow by University of Idaho animal nutritionist Dr. Carl Hunt. This "in the rumen" digestion was used to determine Dry Matter Digestibility on the various harvest dates.

Results: Table 1 shows the dry matter accumulation (lbs/A) at all harvest dates and weekly changes in dry matter yield per acre. Complete nutritional analysis indicates a definite change in quality with maturity. The dry matter percent also increases with maturity, but the change in total yield of dry matter over time is due to an increase in actual growth of new plant tissue, not just a drying of plant material. Stage of cutting will need to be timed based on the quality of forage needed to feed a specific class of livestock. Table 2 shows the change in digestibility with increased maturity. Protein content changed with increased maturity as did other nutrient parameters.  Table 3 shows the changes in protein over time. These changes were very similar to those for Dry Matter Digestibility.  Table 4 shows the dry matter yield in pounds per acre on all varieties tested. They were planted to show the difference that exists between varieties and species of cereals. In general, wheat varieties do not yield as well as the barley and oat varieties. The spring triticales have not yielded as well as the winter varieties planted in other trials in the Pacific Northwest.

Table 1. Dry matter accumulation for five harvest dates, Kimberly, 1995.

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Table 2. Digestible dry matter for five harvest dates at Kimberly, 1995.

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Table 3. Protein content for five harvest dates at Kimberly, 1995.

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Table 4. Dry matter yields for all tested varieties, July 12 harvest, Kimberly, 1995.

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