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Comparison of two varieties of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) for milk production, when fed as silage and when grazed

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

D. Wilman ,
R. J. K. Walters ,
D. H. Baker  and
S. P. Williams
D. Wilman
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Sciences, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, Dyfed SY23 3DD, UK
R. J. K. Walters
Affiliation:
AFRC Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Welsh Plant Breeding Station, Plas Gogerddan, Aberystwyth, Dyfed SY23 3EB, UK
D. H. Baker
Affiliation:
AFRC Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Welsh Plant Breeding Station, Plas Gogerddan, Aberystwyth, Dyfed SY23 3EB, UK
S. P. Williams
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Sciences, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, Dyfed SY23 3DD, UK
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Summary

Two varieties of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.), Tribune and RvP, were cut in each of 2 years, ensiled and individually fed, ad libitum, to dairy cows. In one year, two rates of supplementary concentrate feeding were compared and, in the other year, two types of concentrate and a silage-only diet. Tribune silage was more digestible, in vitro, and was lower in neutral detergent fibre and fibrosity index than RvP silage. There was no difference between the varieties, however, in the cows’ intake of silage. On the silage-only diet, the cows fed Tribune produced a higher yield of milk solids than did those fed RvP; on the other diets, there was no significant difference between varieties in the yield or composition of milk.

The same two varieties were compared when grazed by herds of dairy cows in spring, summer and autumn of the first harvest year on six farms and in the second harvest year on four of the farms. Tribune persisted much better than RvP, in numbers of plants and tillers/m2 and in ground cover, and the herbage was more digestible than that of RvP. Milk yield/cow was c. 0·6 kg per day higher when grazing Tribune than when grazing RvP.

Type
Crops and Soils
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 118 , Issue 1 , February 1992 , pp. 37 - 46
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

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