Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences, College of Agricultural Technology (Aburaihan), University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Malayer University, Malayer, Iran
3 Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding Sciences, College of Agricultural Technology (Aburaihan), University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Objective: Climate change has intensified research efforts toward replacing alternative forages with traditional sources used in the diets of ruminants. In Iran, water scarcity has severely limited alfalfa cultivation during the past decade, despite that it has been traditionally fed as a main portion of cattle diets. The aims of this study were to evaluate the agricultural performance, botanical characteristics, and chemical and nutritional value of two varieties of fodder vetch (Common vetch (Vicia sativa) and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa)) and one variety of fodder pea (Pisum arvense) as compared to alfalfa hay (Medicago sativa).
Method: The experiment was carried out in 2020, as a completely randomized design, with each of the four legume crops cultivated on one hectare as the experimental treatment. The seeding rate was 60 kg/ ha and the soil type was loamy-clay.
Results: The results indicated that both fresh and dry forage yields from hairy vetch were significantly higher than those of the other forages (p<0.05). Additionally, hairy vetch exhibited the highest physical productivity (crop yield per unit water) and economic productivity (benefit per unit water), while alfalfa had the lowest values for the latter parameters (p<0.05). Alfalfa and fodder pea contained the highest quantities of organic matter (89.6% and 89.5% of dry matter, respectively), followed by hairy and common vetch (86.6% and 85.4% of dry matter, respectively). Common vetch fodder contained 27.2% crude protein, while alfalfa contained 17.9%. Fodder peas and hairy vetch contained 22.1% and 22.7% crude protein, respectively. The highest neutral detergent fiber content was found in hairy vetch and alfalfa (41.1% and 41.2%, respectively), whereas neutral detergent fiber was the lowest in common vetch fodder at 36.6% of dry matter. Alfalfa had lower soluble protein content (fraction A) but higher contents of protein fractions B2, B3, and C, compared to fodder peas and fodder vetch varieties. Nutritional parameters estimated from equations developed for forages showed that common vetch had superior feed intake potential, digestible dry matter, total digestible nutrients, relative forage quality, net energy for lactation, and relative feed quality across treatments (p<0.05).
Conclusions: Favorable nutritional characteristics of the experimental forages, agronomic yield parameters, and water utilization efficiency led to the conclusion that the legume crops studied in this experiment were potentially comparable to alfalfa for use in ruminant diets. However, in vivo studies are needed to explore further these legumes' performance effects and their optimal inclusion levels as forage substitutes for alfalfa.
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