Egyptian Clover Genotypic Divergence and Last Cutting Management Augment Nutritive Quality, Seed Yield and Milk Productivity

Abdul Jabbar, Asif Iqbal, Muhammad Aamir Iqbal, Umer Ayaz Aslam Sheikh, Junaid Rahim, Sadaf Khalid, Rehab M. Hafez, Anees-ul-Husnain Shah, Aftab Ahmad Khan, Muhammad Sultan Ali Bazmi, Ahmad Hussain and Asmaa A. Hamad
Additional contact information
Abdul Jabbar: Fodder Research Institute, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan
Asif Iqbal: Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
Muhammad Aamir Iqbal: Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Poonch Rawalakot, Rawalakot 12350, Pakistan
Umer Ayaz Aslam Sheikh: Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Poonch Rawalakot, Rawalakot 12350, Pakistan
Junaid Rahim: Department of Entomology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Poonch Rawalakot, Rawalakot 12350, Pakistan
Sadaf Khalid: Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Poonch Rawalakot, Rawalakot 12350, Pakistan
Rehab M. Hafez: Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt
Anees-ul-Husnain Shah: Fodder Research Institute, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan
Aftab Ahmad Khan: Fodder Research Institute, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan
Muhammad Sultan Ali Bazmi: Fodder Research Institute, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan
Ahmad Hussain: Fodder Research Institute, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan
Asmaa A. Hamad: Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-18

Abstract: Under a changing climate, harvesting management and exploiting the genotypic divergence of Egyptian clover cultivars offers a biologically viable solution to sustainably boost the milk productivity of dairy animals. Two multi-season field trials were executed under semi-arid conditions whereby the first experiment aimed to assess the potential of Egyptian clover cultivars (Berseem Agaiti, Anmol and SB-11) for nutritional quality attributes and the digestibility of green forage and hay, forage palatability and milk productivity of buffaloes fed on hay. In the second field investigation, new promising line, SB-11, was tested for seed production potential under varying dates of the last harvesting regimes (10, 20 and 30 March along with 9 April and 19 April) owing to a sharp hike in temperature. In terms of the nutritive value of green forage and hay, SB-11 remained superior for recording the maximum crude protein (CP), ash, fat and nitrogen-free extract except dry matter (DM) content that was exhibited by the Anmol cultivar. Additionally, SB-11 remained unmatched by giving a minimum crude fiber (CF), while Berseem Agaiti yielded the lesser nutritive forage by producing 4% and 2% higher CF than SB-11 and Anmol, respectively. Moreover, SB-11 recorded the maximum digestibility of CP and DM. Furthermore, SB-11 exhibited a 6% and 9% higher palatability along with 8% and 11% higher milk production than Anmol and Berseem Agaiti, respectively. Additionally, 20 March surpassed the rest of the cutting dates by exhibiting 7%, 23%, 50% and 207% more seed yield than 10 March, 30 March, 9 April and 19 April, respectively, indicating quite a pronounced effect of the last cutting management on the seed production potential of Egyptian clover. The research findings suggest SB-11 as a promising genotype for bridging the nutritive gap of quality feed (forage and hay) for buffaloes along with addressing the seed production challenge of Egyptian clover.

Keywords: biomass yield; crude protein; correlation analysis; leguminous forages; palatability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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