title: Effects of Nitrogen Application Rate on the Yields, Nutritive Value and Silage Fermentation Quality of Whole-crop Wheat.
abstract: Whole-crop wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) as forage has been extensively used in the world. In this study, the effects of N application rates on the yields, nutritive value and silage quality were investigated. The N application rates were 0, 75, 150, 225, and 300 kg/ha. The research results indicated that the dry matter yield of whole-crop wheat increased significantly with increasing N rate up to 150 kg/ha, and then leveled off. The crude protein content and in vitro dry matter digestibility of whole-crop wheat increased significantly with increasing N up to 225 kg/ha, while they no longer increased at N 300 kg/ha. On the contrary, the content of various fibers tended to decrease with the increase of N application. The content of lactic acid, acetic acid and propionic acid in silages increased with the increase of N rate (p<0.05). The ammonia-N content of silages with higher N application rates (≥225 kg/ha) was significantly higher than that with lower N application rates (≤150 kg/ha). Whole-crop wheat applied with high levels of N accumulated more nitrate-N. In conclusion, taking account of yields, nutritive value, silage quality and safety, the optimum N application to whole-crop wheat should be about 150 kg/ha at the present experiment conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Grassland Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Grassland Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
authors.forename: Z H
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Grassland Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.
authors.forename: Z X
authors.initials: ZX
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Pratacultural College, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China.
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Department of Grassland Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China.|Pratacultural College, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China.
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Zhang
keywords: Nitrogen Application; Nutritive Value; Silage; Whole-crop Wheat; Yield