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Quantifying Morphological Stage to Predict the Nutritive Value in Sulla (Hedysarum coronarium L.)

^a Dipartimento di Agronomia, Selvicoltura e Gestione del Territorio, Università degli Studi di Torino, via L. da Vinci 44, 10095 Grugliasco (Torino), Italy
^b Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Agrarie ed Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Ancona, via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
^c Istituto per il Sistema Produzione Animale in Ambiente Mediterraneo, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, via E. De Nicola, 07100 Sassari, Italy
^d Istituto di Scienze delle Produzioni Alimentari, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, via L. da Vinci 44, 10095 Grugliasco (Torino), Italy

^* Corresponding author (Giorgio.borreani{at}unito.it).

Received for publication January 7, 2002. A precise prediction of quality of legumes in the field would enable harvests to be conducted at appropriate nutritive composition levels. Our objective was to predict the nutritive value of sulla (Hedysarum coronarium L.) with the codified morphological stage and weather parameters at two Mediterranean sites (Ancona and Sassari, Italy) in 1996, 1997, and 1998. Herbage samples were collected at progressive morphological stages, from vegetative stage to seed setting. Mean stage by weight (MSW), dry matter yield (DMY), leaf/stem ratio (L/S), crude protein concentration (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), gross energy (GE), and organic matter digestibility (OMD) were determined. Forage characteristics were regressed on growing degree days (GDD) and MSW. The DMY ranged from 2 to more than 10 Mg ha^-1 from vegetative to seed set while L/S decreased from almost 5.6 to 0.2 and the CP from a maximum of 295 to a minimum of 107 g kg^-1 dry matter (DM). The NDF ranged from 200 to 616 g kg^-1 DM and was best predicted by L/S and MSW. The GE was relatively constant across growth stages with a mean value of 18.0 MJ kg^-1 DM. The OMD ranged from 398 to 846 g kg^-1 organic matter (OM) and declined linearly with increasing MSW. The OMD decreased 32.6 g kg^-1 OM per stage unit and followed similar trends for the two sites, with a lower level at the warmer site (Sassari). The MSW was a better predictor of sulla OMD than GDD, with a higher R² (0.70 vs. 0.54) and a lower root mean square error.

Abbreviations: CP, crude protein concentration • DM, dry matter • DMY, dry matter yield • GDD, growing degree day(s) • GE, gross energy • JDAY, day of the year • L/S, leaf/stem ratio • MSW, mean stage by weight • NDF, neutral detergent fiber • OM, organic matter • OMD, organic matter digestibility • RMSE, root mean square error • TLIT, total hours of light for growth from 1 January

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				L. Sulas, G. Seddaiu, R. Muresu, and P. P. Roggero Nitrogen Fixation of Sulla under Mediterranean Conditions Agron. J., November 1, 2009; 101(6): 1470 - 1478. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]