Quality of Red Clover Forage in Different Organic Production Systems

• Published in: Agriculture (Basel) Vol. 14; no. 7; p. 1159
• Main Authors: Purwin, Cezary, Żuk-Gołaszewska, Krystyna, Tyburski, Józef, Borsuk-Stanulewicz, Marta, Stefańska, Barbara
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.07.2024
• Subjects: Acetic acid; Agricultural production; Agriculture; Ammonia; Calcium; Carbohydrates; Clover; Energy value; Ethanol; Farms; Fermentation; Fertilization; Fertilizers; Flowering; Forage; Lactic acid; Legumes; Loam soils; Mineral fertilizers; Nitrogen; organic production system; Potassium; Potassium sulfate; Proteins; quality forage; Red clover; Silage; Soil sciences; Poland; Warsaw Poland; United States > US; Germany
• ISSN: 2077-0472; 2077-0472
• DOI: 10.3390/agriculture14071159

The aim of this study was to determine the quality of organically grown red clover herbage and silage after being influenced by supplementary mineral fertilization. The experimental treatments were as follows: control treatment without fertilization (group C), treatment where kalimagnesia (Patentkali) was applied (group P), and treatment where potassium sulfate (SOP) was applied (group S). In each year of the experiment, first-cut herbage was harvested at the beginning of flowering and ensiled. The year of the study had a significant (p ≤ 0.05) influence on the analyzed parameters of herbage and silage, excluding the content of calcium (Ca), acetic acid (AA), and ammonia nitrogen (N-NH3). The organic production system exerted a significant (p ≤ 0.05) effect on the concentrations of crude protein (CP), acid detergent lignin (ADL), water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC), minerals (P, K, Ca, Na), lactic acid (LA), ethanol, and N-NH3. The pattern of fermentation was affected by both experimental factors. True protein (TP) content was determined at 70–84% CP in herbage and 53–65% CP in silages. The energy value and the protein value of herbage varied significantly across years of the study and in response to the combined effects of both experimental factors (p ≤ 0.05). Red clover grown in organic production systems supplied high-quality forage.