Comparative sowing and the advantage of festulolium over the main cereal grasses in the forest-steppe of Western Siberia

Abstract

In the forest-steppe zone of Western Siberia, the possibility of using festulolium for fodder purposes has been proven, both in single-species crops and in grass mixtures with perennial leguminous grasses. The research was conducted in 2021–2023 at a scientific and experimental station located in the Novosibirsk region. The field experiment includes the following species: awnless brome Rassvet, perennial ryegrass VIK 66, red fescue Maksima 1, festulolium VIK 90, Hungarian sainfoin SibNIIK 30, and white clover Rivendel. It has been established that festulolium and red fescue (99%) stood out as the most winter-hardy among perennial grasses. When using single-species perennial grass crops for grazing, the highest dry matter yield was obtained from awnless brome grass – 31.9 c/ha, with the application of N₁₄P₆₀K₆₀ mineral fertilizers – 46.0 c/ha. Festulolium is slightly inferior (by 8–12%) to it, with a dry matter yield of 28.2 c/ha without mineral fertilizers and 42.8 c/ha with mineral fertilizers. The lowest dry matter yield was obtained in the variant with perennial ryegrass sowing – 23.1 and 30.4 c/ha, respectively. In mixed stands of perennial grasses and legumes, the highest dry matter yield was obtained in a mixture of awnless brome, Hungarian sainfoin and festulolium – 35.7 c/ha, with the application of mineral fertilizers N₁₄P₆₀K₆₀ – 47.2 c/ha. The application of mineral fertilizers in grass mixtures resulted in a 33–35% increase in yield. Among perennial grasses, festulolium had the highest digestible protein content per 1 feed unit (116 g), while perennial ryegrass had the lowest (107 g).