Agronomic factors affecting productivity and nutritive value of perennial fodder crops: A review

Abstract

Perennial fodder crops such as legumes or grasses play an important role in ruminant nutrition all over the world. In the regions where area of permanent grassland is limited represent the very important protein and digestible fiber source. For successful forage production, high forage value of stand is generally required. This value consists of two parts: forage yield and quality. In spite of forage quality evaluating by a range of parameters, forage dry matter yield is only one-dimensional variable. It must be remembered yield is a key factor in forage production, especially for economic efficiency in relation to cost per hectare. Species selection, appropriate harvest frequency, level of fertilization and methods for estimate of qualitative traits were considered due to their practical impact. Changes in protein fractions and alternative forage usage were also included because they are associated with post-harvest forage utilization. It can be summarized that agronomic decisions before harvest have a high impact on both forage yield and quality.