Effect of mowing at different fertility period on yield,quality,and silage fermentation quality of oat

SANG Ruijuan; DONG Chunyang; ZHANG Hongmei; ZHANG Xiaoxia; HE Yun; MA Sen; SHI Yinghua; LI Defeng

doi:10.13557/j.cnki.issn1002-2813.2025.10.017

Abstract：This study aimed to determine the optimal silage mowing stage for autumn sown oats in North Henan.The experiment included two sowing dates and three cutting stages(heading,grain filling,and milk stages).Measurements encompassed winter survival rate,yield at different growth stages,nutritional quality,and silage fermentation quality.The results showed that oats sown on October 1 completely died from frost damage,while those sown on October 22 achieved a 70.20%winter survival rate.From heading to milk stage,later cutting resulted in higher dry matter(DM)yield,with the milk stage producing the maximum DM yield of 14.57 t/hm2.As cutting was delayed,crude protein(CP),crude ash(Ash),and acid detergent fiber(ADF)concentrations gradually decreased.Neutral detergent fiber(NDF)content initially increased,then decreased,while relative forage quality(RFQ)first declined before improving.The milk stage showed the highest principal component score for nutritional quality.Whole-plant moisture content decreased from 83.20%to 69.30%.All silage samples maintained pH values around 4.0,with lactic acid concentrations ranging from 3.37%to 6.50%.Silage made from grain filling stage material exhibited the best fermentation quality.The study indicates that in the North Henan,autumn sown oats are suitable for sowing in late October and harvesting at the milk maturity stage.At this time,the dry matter yield of oats is relatively high and the quality is good.After cutting,they can be directly chopped and silage,and the fermentation quality is also good.