Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
6.2
3.3
Journals
Agronomy
Special Issues
Modern Sustainable Forage Crop Agronomy Systems for Feeding Domestic Animals...
share announcement

Modern Sustainable Forage Crop Agronomy Systems for Feeding Domestic Animals and Wildlife

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Farming Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2022) | Viewed by 11176

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Jerome H. Cherney

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
E.V. Baker Professor of Agriculture, Soil & Crop Sciences Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, 503 Bradfield Hall, 306 Tower Road, Ithaca, NY 14853-1901, USA
Interests: agronomy; biomass crop production; biomass conversion; forage crop management; nutrient management; crop quality
Prof. Dr. Dubravko Maćešić

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Field Crops Forage & Grassland, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zagreb, Svetošimunska 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Interests: field crops; forage crops; biomass utilization and production for feeding domestic animals and wildlife; increasing forage quality; use of renewable energy crops; legume inoculation and grassland ecology

Special Issue Information

Forage crop agronomy systems are essential for feeding domestic animals and wildlife, but they must also be protective of the environment. Submissions on the following topics are invited: 1) The adaptation and potential of the targeted production of certain grass and forage crops for domestic animals (dairy cattle, horses, sheep, etc.); 2) Modern forage crop agronomy systems for feeding domestic animals; 3) Providing better quality nutrition and creating conditions to improve the health, reproduction, and production of wildlife and increasing the profits from trophy-hunting tourism; 4) Nutritional value of forage crops grown, with special emphasis on their protein and energy value, mineral structure, and palatability; 5) Elaborating the systems of forage crops production for animal nutrition in different ecological regions. The nutritional potential of wildlife and farm animals can be improved by growing forage crops in order to meet the specific needs of particular animal species.

Prof. Dr. Jerome H. Cherney 
Prof. Dr. Dubravko Maćešić
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Forage crops and grasslands
  • Agronomy systems
  • Feeding domestic animals and wildlife
  • Forage quality
  • Nutritional value
  • Legume inoculation
  • Sustainability
  • Environment

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

12 pages, 914 KiB  
Article
Combined Application of Organic and Inorganic Amendments Improved the Yield and Nutritional Quality of Forage Sorghum
by Ahmad Sher, Muhammad Adnan, Abdul Sattar, Sami Ul-Allah, Muhammad Ijaz, Muhammad Umair Hassan, Abdul Manaf, Abdul Qayyum, Basem H. Elesawy, Khadiga Ahmed Ismail, Amal F. Gharib and Ahmad El Askary
Agronomy 2022, 12(4), 896; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12040896 - 7 Apr 2022
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3323
Abstract
The use of organic amendments is seen to be a promising method for enhancing crop productivity and soil health. Therefore, this study was performed for two consecutive years (2019 and 2020) to determine the effects of organic biochar (BC), sugar industry press mud [...] Read more.
The use of organic amendments is seen to be a promising method for enhancing crop productivity and soil health. Therefore, this study was performed for two consecutive years (2019 and 2020) to determine the effects of organic biochar (BC), sugar industry press mud (MUD), and poultry manure (PM) combined with inorganic amendments on the yield and nutritional quality of forage sorghum at the College of Agriculture, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Bahadur sub-campus, Layyah, Pakistan. The treatments were comprised of the following: control (no inorganic or organic amendments added); recommended dose of NPK (59:72:30 kg ha−1); half dose of NPK (29.5:36:15 kg ha−1); recommended dose of poultry manure (PM) at 5 t ha−1; recommended dose of press mud (MUD) at 40 t ha−1; recommended dose of biochar (BC) at 11 t ha−1; BC + half NPK; MUD + half NPK; PM + half NPK; PM + BC + half NPK; PM + MUD + half NPK; BC + MUD + half NPK; PM + BC + MUD + half NPK. The treatments were carried out in a triplicate randomized complete block design. Results revealed that combined application of PM + BC + MUD + 1/2 NPK significantly enhanced the plant height (201 cm), number of leaves (17), stem diameter (18 mm), stem dry weight (201.7 g), leaf dry weight (30.4 g), leaf area (184.3 cm2), green forage yield (31.8 Mg ha−1), and dry biomass yield (12.7 Mg ha−1) compared with the control treatment. Forage quality traits, including crude protein (CP), brix percentage, acid detergent fiber (ADF), and acid detergent lignin (ADL), showed maximum value with the combined application of PM + BC + MUD + 1/2 NPK. ADF and ADL are linked with lower digestibility; therefore, it was concluded that the combined application of PM + BC + MUD + 1/2 NPK can improve the productivity, dry biomass yield, and CP of sorghum, but reduces the digestibility under semi-arid conditions, such as those in Central Pakistan. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modern Sustainable Forage Crop Agronomy Systems for Feeding Domestic Animals and Wildlife)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 2168 KiB  
Article
Grass–Legume Mixtures Show Potential to Increase Above- and Belowground Biomass Production for Andean Forage-Based Fallows
by Katherin Meza, Steven J. Vanek, Yulissa Sueldo, Edgar Olivera, Raúl Ccanto, Maria Scurrah and Steven J. Fonte
Agronomy 2022, 12(1), 142; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12010142 - 7 Jan 2022
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 2934
Abstract
Soils of the Andean highlands are under threat from cropping system intensification. Improved forage-based fallows offer great promise to address this issue, but research is needed to better understand the potential of species mixtures vs. monocultures to support multiple farmer objectives, especially forage [...] Read more.
Soils of the Andean highlands are under threat from cropping system intensification. Improved forage-based fallows offer great promise to address this issue, but research is needed to better understand the potential of species mixtures vs. monocultures to support multiple farmer objectives, especially forage production and soil conservation. We used a pot study to quantify above- and belowground biomass production as well as the total N uptake of grass–legume pairs between five grasses: (1) oat (Avena sativa), (2) ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum), (3) festulolium (Lolium × Festuca genera), (4) brome grass (Bromus catharticus), and (5) orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata), and four legumes: (1) vetch (Vicia dasycarpa), (2) red clover (Trifolium pratense), (3) black medic (Medicago lupulina), and (4) alfalfa (Medicago sativa) relative to the performance of each species in monoculture within two soils from the central Peruvian Andes. Grass–legume bicultures demonstrated significant overyielding, producing 65% and 28% more total dry biomass and total N uptake on average than monocultures. Aboveground biomass of bicultures was significantly influenced by the species of legume present, while belowground biomass was more affected by the grass species in the mixture. When evaluating the growth of each species separately, our findings indicate that overyielding was driven more by the enhanced growth of grasses relative to legumes. Our findings indicate that combining key functional groups (e.g., grass and legume, annual and perennial) offers great promise for developing improved fallows for supporting soil health and productivity in Andean agroecosystems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modern Sustainable Forage Crop Agronomy Systems for Feeding Domestic Animals and Wildlife)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

9 pages, 1917 KiB  
Article
Improvement of Forage Nutritive Quality of Alfalfa and Red Clover through Plant Breeding
by Marijana Tucak, Marija Ravlić, Daniela Horvat and Tihomir Čupić
Agronomy 2021, 11(11), 2176; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11112176 - 28 Oct 2021
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 3759
Abstract
Alfalfa and red clover are important perennial legumes for the production of high-quality fodder. The improvement of the forage quality of legumes is one of the strategic goals of breeding programs. Variation in quality traits (protein content (CP), neutral detergent fiber content (NDF), [...] Read more.
Alfalfa and red clover are important perennial legumes for the production of high-quality fodder. The improvement of the forage quality of legumes is one of the strategic goals of breeding programs. Variation in quality traits (protein content (CP), neutral detergent fiber content (NDF), and acid detergent fiber content (ADF)) and relative feed value (RFV) among seven cultivars and 39 elite breeding populations of alfalfa and red clover was evaluated in the study. Significant differences were determined among the investigated cultivars/populations. Alfalfa populations L-8, 10, 12, 15, and 20 were characterized by a high CP content (up to 23.47%) and/or low NDF and ADF contents. The highest CP content in red clover was recorded in population CD-18 (21.89%), while the lowest NDF and ADF contents were determined in populations CD-19 and CD-4, respectively. High RFV was determined in alfalfa populations L-10, 12, 20, 15, 16, 8, 11, and 17 (prime fodder), and in red clover populations CD-4, 8, 16, 14, and 19 (premium-quality fodder). The identified superior alfalfa and red clover populations will be used to improve the nutritional value of forage crops in our breeding program, which will lead to the release of novel cultivars with improved forage quality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Modern Sustainable Forage Crop Agronomy Systems for Feeding Domestic Animals and Wildlife)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop