Estimation of red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) forage quality parameters depending on the cut, stage of growth and cultivar

Abstract

A field trial was conducted to determine the forage quality parameters of two red clover cultivars – Nike and K-39 and to quantify the effects of cultivar, cut and stage of growth on red clover forage quality. The experiment was conducted in a randomised block design with three replicates. The changes in chemical constituents of red clover were analysed by Weende system of analysis. The differences between forage quality of investigated red clover cultivars were significant for crude ash, crude protein, crude fibre and nitrogen free extract (P< 0.05). The results of this investigation indicated that the crude protein content of red clover declined with advancing maturity in the second and third cut (from 245.60 to 180.50 g kg^-1 of DM and from 256.25 to 160.25 g kg^-1 of DM, respectively). The achieved results show that cv K-39 has lower forage quality at the second cut, with lower crude protein and higher crude fibre than cv Nike.