Forage performance in silage production under water deficit conditionsABSTRACT
The positive performance of different cultivars in relation to a water deficit is directly correlated with an increase in biomass production, with repercussions for ensuring system sustainability. The objective of this study was to evaluate the production and nutritional value of four millet genotypes in comparison with that of corn and sorghum under two water supply conditions (simulated water deficit and normal conditions). This experiment was conducted using a completely randomized design (CRD), with six cultivars, two irrigation levels, and four replicates, totaling 48 experimental units. At the end of 12 weeks after sowing, biometric and bromatological evaluations were conducted. Based on these results, pearl millet ADR300, ADR500, BRS1501, and ADRf6010 showed promise and are interesting alternatives to be explored by silage producers in more critical water deficit periods. Among millets, ADRf6010 performed similarly to corn and sorghum, which are commonly used in Brazil as forage, indicating that it is the best alternative for silage formation.
Keywords Climate risk; Income components; Forage; Zea mays
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A = Plant height (PH, m); B = Stem fresh matter (SFM, kg pot-1); C = Stem dry matter (SDM, kg pot-1) Bars followed by equal capital letters for the same cultivar indicate that there was no significant difference between 50 and 100% irrigation depths, and equal lowercase letters between the cultivars indicate that there was no significant difference by Tukey’s test at 5%.
A = Stem diameter (SD, mm); B = number of green leaves (Nº. green leaves); C = Number of dry leaves (Nº. dry leaves); D = Leaf area (LA, cm2 pot-1); E = Leaf fresh matter (LFM, kg pot-1); F = Plant dry matter (PDM, kg pot-1)Equal lowercase letters between the cultivars indicate that there was no difference and illustrate statistically equal means by Tukey’s test at 5%.
A = 50%; B = 100% irrigation depthsDry matter (DM, %), organic matter (OM, %), mineral matter (MM, %), crude protein (CP, %), neutral detergent fiber (NDF, %), acid detergent fiber (ADF, %), lignin content (LC, %) and in vitro dry matter digestibility (VDMD, %).