Abstract:

A field experiment was carried out to study the effects of stubble height and clipped plant height on yield and forage quality of Euchlaena mexicana. The crude nutrient analysis method was used to evaluate the forage nutritive quality. The results showed that the yield of the treatment with 30 cm stubble (treatmentⅡ)was the highest as compared with those with 20 cm and 10 cm stubble. The fresh and dry matter yields of the treatment were 14.1 kg·m^-2 and 1.90 kg·m^-2, respectively. The contents of crude protein (CP) and crude fiber (CF) were higher and those of crude ashes (CA) and nitrogen-free extract (NFE) were lower when the stubble height was 30 cm. The yield of treatment Ⅳ (the plant was clipped at 130 cm height) and the control (the plant was clipped at 95cm height) was not significantly different, however, the content of CP and NFE was lower and CA and CF was higher in treatment Ⅳ than in control. The CP and NFE content of treatment Ⅲ (the plant was clipped at 60 cm height) was the highest and its CA and CF content was the lowest, while its yield was lower than that of control significantly. According to the yield of five forage nutritive indexes (CP, CA, EE, NFE and CF) and the gross energy (GE), the treatment with 30cm stubble and 95cm clipped plant height was the ideal cutting pattern for Euchlaena mexicana, providing higher yield and quality.

Key words: Euchlaena mexicana, Clipping, Stubble height, Clipped plant height, Yield, Forage quality