UNH Today

你还记得暑假后回到学校，花点时间回忆上一学年所学的细节吗? A similar ‘summer slump’ exists in farming, 在牲畜食用的传统饲料植物生长不好或不易获得的生长季节期间. Scientists with the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station (NHAES)正在帮助确定在这些季节性“萧条”期间可以种植哪些饲料作物来补充传统饲料.’

这些草料“暴跌”会影响乳制品和牲畜生产，并威胁到生计，因为喂养放牧动物变得更加困难和昂贵. In New Hampshire, there’s more than 64,000 acres of forage land used by cattle, goats, pigs horses and other livestock, 根据美国农业部最新的全州农业普查. The International Dairy Foods Association reports 花岗岩州的乳制品行业直接支持了5100多个就业岗位，占全国人口的2%.占新罕布什尔州国内生产总值的3%. Across northern New England, farmers often choose cool-season perennials, such as alfalfa, orchard grass and red and white clover, for their forage crops. However, with these traditional forages, growth stops or slows during three seasonal ‘slumps’: early spring; the middle of summer, when excessive heat slows or stops most plant growth; and during the late fall, prior to the arrival of killing.

“我们的项目实际上是试图针对这三个时期，当传统的牧草不多产，看看我们是否可以确定冷季和暖季一年生作物，可以帮助补充这些时期,” described NHAES scientist Rich Smith, an associate professor in the Natural Resources and the Environment department at UNH. “我们根据其生物量(总产量或干物质)和牲畜的营养价值评估了每种补充饲料作物.”

“我们不仅研究了这些物种在生产和营养价值方面的表现, but we also identified other qualities in each species, 比如它们对杂草的抑制作用，以及它们在混合种植时的生长效果。”他补充道. “看到这些物种在正面比较时有多么不同(或相似)，这真的很有趣.”

“我们不仅研究了这些物种在生产和营养价值方面的表现, but we also identified other qualities in each species, 比如它们对杂草的抑制作用，以及它们在混合种植时的生长效果. 看到这些物种在正面比较时有多么不同(或相似)真的很有趣.”

Smith and his colleagues, including NHAES scientist Andre Brito, an associate professor in the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Food Systems department, and research scientist Nick Warren, manager of the UNH Agroecology Lab，在《永利app新版本官网地址》杂志的三篇独立文章中发表了他们的发现 Crop Forage & Turfgrass Management journal.

“农民对放牧他们的覆盖作物很感兴趣, 作为一种从这些作物中获得额外附加值的方式,” said Smith. “这项研究很好地评估了使用覆盖作物放牧和一些可以使用它们的最佳季节.”

他们的研究在三个生长季节(2015-17)进行 UNH’s Kingman Research Farm. 在每个“萧条”时期，研究人员种植并评估了5-6种不同的物种. Each species was selected for its suitability to the northern New England climate; whether it was a warm- or cool-season crop; and if it was a legume, grass, or of another plant family, said Smith. Each trial included at least one legume, several species of grasses, and in most cases a non-legume broad-leaf species). Additionally, 研究人员在不同的生长阶段收获植物，以确定平衡生产力和营养价值的最佳时机.

The researchers found that barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and triticale (Secale x Triticum)在早春表现最好(就生长数量和植物的营养价值而言), Japanese millet (Echniochloa esculenta) mid-summer, and canola (Brassica napus L.) for late fall.

The researchers found that barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and triticale (Secale x Triticum)在早春表现最好(就生长数量和植物的营养价值而言), Japanese millet (Echniochloa esculenta) mid-summer, and canola (Brassica napus L.) for late fall.

“可能没有一种物种能在这三个衰退期都生存下来, 所以我们研究了各种可能在每个季节都表现良好的植物,” Smith added. “On top of that, 我们想要找到那些拥有最多植物物质(生物量)并为奶牛提供最高营养价值的物种，以及那些收获时间是生物量和营养价值都达到顶峰的时候.”

Following each of the three cuttings, 布里托分析了每种牧草的不同品质, including digestibility and protein content.

“我真的很高兴我们找到了‘最佳位置’,’ where quantity and quality was highest, and we were able to report those data,” said Brito. “这对农民来说是非常重要和实用的信息，分享你什么时候可以最大限度地利用你的饲料作物的信息.”

For Smith, 这项研究也为强调这些作物的多功能性提供了一个机会, not just as forages, but also as cover crops.

“农民对放牧他们的覆盖作物很感兴趣, 作为一种获得附加值的方式，或者作为一种终止他们的策略,” said Smith. “这项研究应该让农民更好地了解哪些覆盖作物可能更适合在一年中的不同时间放牧.”

Additionally, 研究人员认为，随着该地区气候的持续变化，他们的工作在未来将变得更加有用.

“In the past, we wouldn’t always have a summer slump, 但是我们看到像今年这样的干旱变得越来越普遍,” Smith said. “So, 确定在炎热和干燥时期可能表现更好的替代牧草, which seem to be becoming more and more frequent, is going to be that much more important for farmers.”