Two studies were conducted to assess whether routine applications of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy could predict the effects of silage proteolysis on ruminal crude protein (CP) degradation of legume and grass silages. A preliminary study was conducted to assess the effect of laboratory drying method on ruminal CP degradation of silages. Thirty legume and grass silages were freeze-, ove...

Clovers and other legumes are highly desirable species in pastures and hay meadows. First, legumes are able to obtain nitrogen from air through their symbiotic relationship with Rhizobium bacteria and, there­ fore, are not dependent on nitrogen fertilizer. The fixed nitrogen is primarily used to support clover growth, but parts of it become avail­ able to neighboring grass plants when clover ti...

Ways of promoting integration of herbaceous forage legumes into a napier grass fodder system were evaluated with the aim of increasing forage quantity and quality on smallholder dairy farms in central Kenya. The herbaceous legumes Desmodium intortum cv. Greenleaf (ILRI 104), Macrotyloma axillare cv. Axillare (ILRI 6756) and Neonotonia wightii cv. Tinaroo (ILRI 9794) were intercropped with napie...

The establishment of legumes crops with phenotypic traits that favour their persistence and competitiveness in mixed swards is a pressing task in sustainable agriculture. However, to fully exploit the potential benefits of introducing pasture-based grass-legume systems, an increased scientific knowledge of legume agronomy for screening of favourable traits is needed. We exploited a short-cut ph...

Plant Species and Variety Forage quality refers to digestible nutrient content (i.e., energy, protein), palatability and digestibility of the forage plant. Legumes (alfalfa, medics, cloves, vetch) are the highest quality group of forage grown in pastures. They are high in protein, energy (digestibility), and minerals. They also “fix” nitrogen fertilizer, making them very economical to grow. Inc...

Grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) is an important legume crop grown mainly in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. This underutilized legume can withstand harsh environmental conditions including drought and flooding. During drought-induced famines, this protein-rich legume serves as a food source for poor farmers when other crops fail under harsh environmental conditions; however, its use is limit...

Much is known about growth and nutrient uptake traits ecological stoichiometry in natural systems. However, these concepts have been comparatively understudied agricultural systems despite their potential to infer limitation interspecific resource competition. This study established a model mixed pasture system assess tissue C:N C:P aboveground biomass (AGB) grass (Phalaris aquatica) legume (Tr...

There is a great interest in ecology in understanding the role of soil microbial diversity for plant productivity and coexistence. Recent research has shown increases in species richness of mutualistic soil fungi, the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), to be related to increases in aboveground productivity of plant communities. However, the impact of AMF richness on plant-plant interactions ha...