Abstract:

To enhance the use of forage barley, a study about yield and quality of 10 barley forage grass varieties was carried out in Baoshan City, hoping to elect suitable varieties for planting. The results showed that ‘Baodamai 25’, ‘Baodamai 20’ and ‘Baodamai 12’ had outstanding performance over the average, the fresh grass yield of the three varieties was 40.15, 38.18 and 38.1 t/hm², respectively; the crude protein content was high, which was 10.7%, 9.56% and 8.69%, respectively; the crude fiber content was low, which was 24.6%, 29.7% and 30%, respectively; the neutral detergent fiber content was low, which was 48.3%, 49.2% and 48.8%, respectively; the acid detergent fiber content was lower, which was 25.1%, 25.9% and 27%, respectively; the crude fat content was relatively high, which was 9.63%, 10.32% and 9.86%, respectively; the nitrogen-free extract content was high, which was 44.1%, 39.2% and 41.6%, respectively. The three barley varieties, ‘Baodamai 25’, ‘Baodamai 20’ and ‘Baodamai 12’, have the characteristics of high yield, rich nutrition, good palatability and high nutritional value, which could be used as silage or forage grass for demonstration and promotion in suitable areas of Baoshan City, thus promoting the development of local animal husbandry.

Key words: barley, variety, fresh grass, yield, forage, nutrition, quality, crude protein content, crude fiber content, nitrogen-free extract