A new variety of Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), named 'Alfaking' was developed between 2015 and 2023 at the Grassland and Forages Division, National Institute of Animal Science, Rural Development Administration, Cheonan, Republic of Korea. The variety was produced through artificial hybridization, with ‘Paravivo’ serving as the maternal line and ‘WL514’ as the paternal line. ‘Alfaking’ underwent field tests across four regions (Cheonan, Pyeongchang, Jeongeup, and Jinju) to evaluate its agronomic characteristics and forage production over two years (2022-2023). The dry matter yield of ‘Alfaking’ reached 22,516 kg/ha, which is 11% higher than the control variety, ‘Vernal.’ ‘Alfaking’ exhibited 2.1% higher crude protein content than ‘Vernal’ in forage nutritive value. The development of this new alfalfa variety, which exhibits excellent adaptability to challenging environmental conditions, is expected to enhance forage cultivation and productivity in Korea.

Due to climate change and the expansion of cultivation areas through the use of reclaimed land, changes in the selection of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum L.) varieties are anticipated. This study was conducted to compare the growth characteristics before overwintering, productivity, and feed value of eight Italian ryegrass varieties with different maturing stages under the same cultivation conditions. The variety ‘Lm4ho’, a medium-maturing type, showed superior growth characteristics before overwintering, including plant height, leaf length, and leaf width. The heading date was advanced in all varieties, with a greater degree of advancement observed in varieties with earlier heading dates. When harvested at the heading stage of the early-maturing types, the dry matter yield of the medium-maturing types was not significantly different from that of the early-maturing types. However, when harvested at the heading stage of the medium-maturing types, the dry matter yield was higher than that of the early-maturing types. Specifically, ‘Lm4ho’ produced 2,518 kg/ha more than ‘Kowinearly’. The late-maturing variety IR901 and the medium-maturing varieties ‘Lm4ho’ and ‘Kowinmaster’ showed statistically superior dry matter yields. In terms of forage value, including crude protein (CP), total digestible nutrients (TDN), and relative feed value (RFV), the medium- and late-maturing types outperformed the early-maturing types. Notably, ‘Lm4ho’, ‘IR 901’, and ‘Hwasan 104’ were evaluated as suitable varieties for high-quality forage production. These results suggest that medium-maturing varieties may be suitable for double cropping in the central regions due to climate change. We propose that future breeding of Italian ryegrass should expand from focusing on cold tolerance and early-maturing varieties to include mediumand late-maturing varieties that consider both productivity and quality.

This experiment was conducted to breed a very early-maturing variety of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) at the Grassland and Forage Crops Division, National Institute of Animal Science, RDA, Cheonan, Korea, from 2022 to 2023. The new variety, named “Earlybird,” is a diploid variety characterized by green leaf color, a semi-erect growth habit in late autumn/fall, and an erect growth habit in early spring. With a heading date of April 30, Earlybird is categorized as a very early-maturing variety. Compared to the “Kowinearly” control variety, Earlybird’s flag-leaf width is wider by 0.2 mm, its flag-leaf length is longer by 1.4 cm, and its plant height is greater by 10.5 cm. Additionally, Earlybird’s ear length is 1.4 cm longer than Kowinearly's, and it exhibits lodging resistance. Although the dry matter yield of Earlybird (7,469 kg/ha) is smaller than that of Kowinearly, the difference is not statistically significant. The total digestible nutrient and crude protein content of Earlybird are 63.5% and 8.6%, respectively, which are higher than those of Kowinearly by 1.8% and 0.3%, respectively. The neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber content of Earlybird are 56.9% and 32.0%, respectively, which are lower than those of Kowinearly by 2.2% and 2.3%, respectively.

This study was conducted in Cheonan, the middle region of South Korea, to evaluate the forage characteristics of six medium maturing Italian ryegrass varieties: ‘Kowinmaster’, ‘IR 601’, ‘IR 602’, ‘IR 603’, ‘IR 604’ and ‘IR 605’. In growth characteristics, 'Kowinmaster' exhibited the earliest heading date on April 30, while 'IR 601' exhibited the latest on May 17. 'IR 601' exhibited the highest lodging resistance, and all varieties demonstrated excellent disease resistance, waterlogging tolerance, and cold tolerance. 'IR 603', 'IR 604', and 'IR 605' demonstrated above-average plant length, with 'IR 604' reaching the longest at 114.8 cm. In productivity, 'IR 602' and 'IR 605' produced the highest total dry matter yield, each exceeding 12,800 kg/ha. Regarding feed values, 'Kowinmaster' recorded the highest RFV and TDN at 119.18 and 66.07%, respectively, with 'IR 605' exhibiting the second highest. 'IR 604' and 'IR 601' demonstrated crude protein concentrations over 9%, with 'IR 604' exhibiting the highest at 9.74%. Analysis of monosaccharide content in Italian ryegrass revealed that 'IR 605' exhibited the highest glucose and fructose content at 23.35 g/kg and 50.70 g/kg, respectively. In summary, 'IR 602' exhibited the highest productivity, 'Kowinmaster' recorded the highest feed value, and 'IR 605' exhibited the highest glucose and fructose content. Therefore, 'IR 605' is considered the most outstanding variety due to its superior productivity, second highest feed value, and significant monosaccharide content.

This study was conducted to find a way to improve quality by observing changes in quality and microbial communities according to whether corn silage was treated with additives and the storage period, and to utilize them as basic research results. The experimental design was performed by 2˟4 factor desigh, and the untreated (CON), and the additive inoculated (ADD) silage were stored and fermented for 30 (TH), 60 (ST), 90 (NT), and 120 (OHT) days, with each condition repeated 3 times. There was no change in the nutrient content of corn silage according to additive treatment and storage period (p>0.05). However, the change in DM and the increase in the relative proportions of lactic acid content and Lactobacillales according to the storage period (p<0.05) indicate that continuous fermentation progressed until OHT days of fermentation. Enterobacterales (33.0%), Flavobacteriales (14.4%), Sphingobacteriales (12.7%), Burkholderiales (9.28%) and Pseudomonadales (6.18%) dominated before fermentation of corn silage, but after fermentation, the diversity of microorganisms decreased sharply due to the dominance of Lactobacillales (69.4%) and Bacillales (11.5%), Eubacteriales (7.59%). Therefore, silage maintained good fermentation quality with or without microbial additives throughout all fermentation periods, but considering the persistence of fermentation even in long-term storage and the aerobic stability, it would be advantageous to use microbial additives.

Mongolian herders rely significantly on grazing their animals, such as goats, sheep, cattle, horses, yaks, and camels, in broad rangelands throughout the year. The availability of appropriate forage, the amount of hay and forage to be kept, and whether the animals will acquire physical strength from the pasture to make it through the impending cold season are all determined by the meteorological conditions of the year. Herders' principal source of income is animals, therefore preventing mortality is a top priority. In Mongolia, meadows are a major element determining cattle live weight. However, in the summer of 2022, Mongolia faced a drought, which resulted in inadequate pastures and starved cattle. Livestock might lose weight in these situations due to a lack of supplemental feeding.

Understanding changes in fermentation characteristics and microbial populations of forage silage during ensiling is of interest for improving the nutrient value of the feed for ruminants. This study was conducted to investigate the changes in fermentation characteristics and bacterial communities of whole crop rice (WCR) silage during the ensiling period. The chemical compositions, pH, organic acids and bacterial communities were evaluated at 0, 3, 6, and 12 months after ensiling. The bacterial communities were classified at both the genus and species levels. The dry matter content of WCR silage decreased with the length of storage (p<0.05), but there was no significant difference in crude protein and NDF contents. Following fermentation, the pH level of WCR silage was lower than the initial level. The lactic acid content remained at high levels for 3 to 6 months after ensiling, followed by a sharp decline at 12 months (p<0.05). Before fermentation, the WCR was dominated by Weissella (30.8%) and Pantoea (20.2%). Growth of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (31.4%) was observed at 3 months after ensiling. At 6 months, there was a decrease in Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (10.2%) and an increase in Levilactobacillus brevis (12.8%), resulting in increased bacteria diversity until that period. The WCR silage was dominated by Lentilactobacillus buchneri (71.2%) and Lacticaseibacillus casei (27.0%) with a sharp reduction in diversity at 12 months. Overall, the WCR silage maintained satisfactory fermentation quality over a 12-month ensiling period. Furthermore, the fermentation characteristics of silage were found to be correlated to bacterial microbiome.

Iron (Fe) is a vital element for plants and other organisms, involving in several physiological processes including respiration, chlorophyll biosynthesis, and photosynthesis. Unfortunately, how Fe accumulation regulates in response to light quality has not been well established in plants. Therefore, the aim of the study was to explore the mechanism of Fe homeostasis by light quality. In this study, we found morpho-physiological attributes were significantly improved in response to blue (λmax: 450) compared to white (λ max: 500) and red (λmax: 660) light. The root-shoot length, plant biomass, photosynthesis efficiency (Fv/Fm) and leafgreen (SPAD) significantly declined in response to white and red light. However, these parameters were improved and iron deficiency was substantially alleviated by blue light exposure in alfalfa seedlings. This study might be useful to the forage breeders and farmers for improving alfalfa yield and nutritional benefits.

Silicon (Si) has the potential to improve plant growth and stress tolerance. The study aimed to explore Si-involving plant responses and molecular characterization of different Si-responsive genes in alfalfa. In this study, the exogenous supplementation of Si enhanced plant growth, and biomass yield. Si-acquisition in alfalfa root and shoot was higher in Si-supplemented compared to silicon deficient (-Si) plants, implying Si-acquisition has beneficial on alfalfa plants. As a consequence, the quantum efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) was significantly increased in silicon-sufficient (+Si) plants. The quantitative gene expression analysis exhibited a significant upregulation of the Lsi1, Lsi2, Lsi3, NIP5;1, and NIP6;1 genes in alfalfa roots, while BOR1, BOR4, NIP2, and NIP3 showed no significant variation in their expression. The MEME results further noticed the association of four motifs related to the major intrinsic protein (MIP). The interaction analysis revealed that NIP5;1 and Lsi1 showed a shared gene network with NIP2, BOR1, and BOR4, and Lsi2, Lsi3 and NIP3-1, respectively. These results suggest that members of the major intrinsic proteins (MIPs) family especially Lsi1, Lsi2, Lsi3, NIP5;1, and NIP6;1 genes helped to pass water and other neutral solutes through the cell membrane and those played significant roles in Si uptake and transport in plants. Together, these insights might be useful for alfalfa breeding and genome editing approaches for alfalfa improvement.

The experiment aim to breed an early-maturing variety of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.). It was conducted at the Grassland and Forage Crops Division, National Institute of Animal Science, RDA, Cheonan, Korea, from 2022 to 2023. The new variety named “Oasis” is a diploid with green leaves and has a semi-erect growth habit in late fall, and an erect growth habit in early spring. With a heading date of May 10, Oasis is categorized as an early-maturing variety. Compared with the “Florida80” as a control variety, Oasis’s flag leaf was 1 mm wider and 2 cm shorter, while the plant length was 7.8 cm longer. Additionally, the ear of Oasis was 1.2 cm longer than that of Florida80, and it showed lodging resistance. The dry matter yield of Oasis (8,805 kg/ha) was higher than that of Florida80. The total digestible nutrient and crude protein contents of Oasis were 64.5%, and 9.3%, respectively, which were 1.1% and 0.6% higher than those of Florida80, respectively. The neutral and acid detergent fiber contents in Oasis were 54.2% and 30.8%, respectively, which was 1.9% and 1.4% lower than those of Florida80, respectively. These results indicate that Oasis has good dry matter yield in the most of region and especially, middle and northern region of South Korea.

This experiment was carried out to determine effects of seed rate of native grasses, called native summer forage crops (NSFC), on their growth characteristics and yields in no-tillage paddy fields in central provinces. NSFC cultivation was performed according to the agricultural guidelines of the Rural Development Administration (RDA) during 2020 to 2022. Echinochloa crusgalli ‘Jeju native’, Setaria viridis ‘Korean native type’, Digitaria sanguinalis ‘Korean native type’) were sown by various seed rate in the experimental field (3m × 4m plot) of Department of Animal Resources Development, Seonghwan–eup, Cheonan, Korea in late-May or early-June for 3 years and harvested in middle-September. Dry matter yields (DMY) in Echinochloa crusgalli and Setaria viridis increased as increasing seed rate. DMY in 40 kg ha-1 of Echinochloa crusgalli was the highest and DMY in 60 kg ha-1 of Setaria viridis was the highest. However, All treatments of Digitaria sanguinalis showed similar DMY. Yields of NSFC were the order of Echinochloa crusgalli (9,681~11,092 kg ha-1) > Digitaria sanguinalis (8,311~9,023 kg ha-1) >etaria viridis (3,145~4,749 kg ha-1). The contents of crude protein in NSFC were the order of Digitaria sanguinalis > Echinochloa crusgalli > Setaria viridis. The contents of ADF and NDF in NSFC were the order of Echinochloa crusgalli > Digitaria sanguinalis > Setaria viridis. As shown in above results, we suggest that introduction of NSFC is one of the most important skills in order to stably increase yields of forage crops for utilization of the double cropping system in no-tillage paddy fields.

This study was conducted to investigate the forage characteristics of very early-maturing Italian ryegrass (IRG) three cultivars within September, 2021 to July, 2022 in Cheonan, Korea. We used three different cultivars of Italian ryegrass in this study “Greenfarm” “Greenfarm2ho” and “Greenfarm3ho” The results of heading date in this study, “Greenfarm” was recorded 3 days earlier than the other two cultivars, and its lodge tolerance score was the highest among the three. However, in case of plant length, there was no significantly difference in whole cultivars, in addition disease resistance, insect resistance and cold tolerance were not significantly different in three cultivars. The forage productivity of “Greenfarm2ho” was recorded the highest, especially the 1st harvesting of “Greenfarm2ho” yielded significantly the highest and superior to other varieties. As a result of feed value analysis, three cultivars were generally superior to overseas varieties and in particular, “Greenfarm2ho” was recorded to have excellent value because of the lowest NDF and ADF content. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in crude protein content among three varieties. In case of the monosaccharides content "Greenfarm3ho” had significantly higher glucose content than other two varieties, therefore the “Greenfarm” has advantage for preparing high quality of silage. In contrast, there was no significant difference among three varieties in fructose content.

Barnyard millet is a short-lived tropical, short-term C4 plant and has superior vitality in humid conditions owing to its freshwater habitat. It shows strong adaptability to soils with poor drainage and low fertility, and efficiently competes with rice in paddy fields. Barnyard millet grain is used as feed in the Indian region and is a great source of dietary fiber, proteins, fats, vitamins, and some essential amino acids. Considering its high nutritional value and its potential as a food resource and fodder crop, various countries are showing interest in cultivating barnyard millet. However, in Korea, farm households have not yet recognized the benefits of cultivating barnyard millet, and research regarding this is scarce. In this review, the features of forage barnyard millet and its related research trends are discussed, with the aim of improving interest in this crop and promoting its cultivation.

Pollution of agricultural soil by alkaline salts, such as Na2CO3, is a critical and long-lasting problem in cultivable land. The aim of the study was to examine the putative role of citric acid (CA) in alleviating Na2CO3-stress in alfalfa. In this study, Na2CO3 significantly induced leaf chlorosis, inhibited plant growth and photosynthesis related parameters, increased hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and reduced major antioxidant enzymes (SOD ,CAD, APX) in alfalfa. However, the presence of CA these negative effects of Na2CO3-stress largely recovered. Interestingly, expression of antioxidant and ion transporter genes (Fe-SOD, CAT, APX, DHAR and NHX1) involved in Reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis and oxidative stress tolerance in alfalfa. These findings suggest that CA-mediated Na2CO3 stress alleviation is an ecofriendly approach that would be useful to local farmer for alfalfa and other forage crop cultivation in alkaline soils.

This study was evaluated to compare annual productivity and feed value of Italian ryegrass and summer forage crops at paddy field in middle region of Korea. Italian ryegrass (Kowinearly) was used as winter forage crop, and forage rice (Youngwoo) and barnyard millet (Jeju) were used as summer forage crops. Each crop was cultivated using the standard forage cultivation method. The plant height, dry matter yield, crude protein content, and total digestible nutrient content of Italian ryegrass were 90.6 cm, 7,681 kg/ha, 9.2%, and 63.8%, respectively, and it was no significant difference by summer forage crops (p>0.05). The plant height of summer forage crops was the higher in barnyard millet than in forage rice (p<0.05). The dry matter, crude protein, and total digestible nutrient yields of summer forage crops were the higher in forage rice than in barnyard millet (p<0.05). Also, the feed value of summer forage crops was higher in forage rice than in barnyard millet. In conclusion, the combination of Italian ryegrass-forage rice was the most effective cropping system for annual forage production with high-yield and high-feed value, and it was considered the combination of Italian ryegrass-barnyard millet was good cropping system for annual forage production through reducing labor and cultivating stable at paddy field in middle region of Korea.

Cadmium (Cd) toxicity is a serious limitation for agricultural production. In this study, we explored tolerance mechanism associated with Cd toxicity tolerance in alfalfa plants. We used three distinct alfalfa cultivars M. sativa cv. Vernal, M. sativa cv. Zhung Mu, and M. sativa cv. Xing Jiang Daye in this study. Cd showed declined chlorophyll score in Xing Jiang Daye compared with Zhung Mu and Vernal. No significant change observed among the cultivars for root and shoot length. Atomic absorption spectroscopy analysis demonstrated a significant accumulation of Cd, Fe, S and PC in distinct alfalfa cultivars. However, Zhung Mu and Xing Jiang Daye declined Cd accumulation in root, where Fe, S and PC incremented only in Zhung Mu. It suggests that excess Cd in Zhung Mu possibly inhibited in root by the increased accumulation of Fe, S and PC. This was further confirmed by the response of Fe (MsIRT1) and S transporters (MsSULTR1;2 and MsSULTR1;3), and MsPCS1 genes associated with Fe, S and PC availability and translocation in roots and shoots. It suggests that specially the transcript signal inducing the responses to adjust Cd especially in Zhung Mu. This finding provides the essential background for further molecular breeding program for forage crops.

Background : Spiraea prunifolia var. simpliciflora (Rosaceae) called “Brial wreath” is a deciduous latifoliate shrub that is widely distributed throughout in Northeast Asia. Phytochemical and biological investigation of S. prunifolia have led to the discovery of biologically active compounds. Pharmacological studies revealed that the extract of the root of S. prunifolia possess antioxidant, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory activities. Some chemical constituents such as sterols, phenolics, terpene and fatty acid, as well as ethanolic extracts from the roots of S. prunifolia, have previously been reported to modulate the deleterious effects of diabetes, to prevent high-fat diet-induced obesity, and to prevent cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity. Our continuing research was carried out to search for other phytochemical constituents from the leavess of S. prunifolia. The chemical structures of compounds were determined by NMR and FAB/MS spectroscopic data interpretation. Methods and Results : Multiple-preparative liquid chromatography (MPLC) purifications were carried out on YMC LC-forte/R instrument (YMC Kyoto, Japan) equipped with YMC-Pack ODS-A columns (ODS gel : 5 ㎛, 10 ㎜ × 250 ㎜). High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was performed on Agilent Technologies instrument (Aglient Tec., Santa clara, CA, USA) equipped with YMC–Pack Pro C18 columns (ODS gel : 5 ㎛, 4.6 ㎜ × 250 ㎜). Next, quantitative analysis was carried out on UPLC-QqQ/MS 3200 Q-TRAP instrument (AB SCIEX Toronto, Canada) using a ACQUITY UPLC (waters corp.) with an ACQUITY BEH C18 column (2.1 ㎜ × 100 ㎜, 1.7 ㎛). The metabolite samples was applied to preparative reversed-phase HPLC and UPLC using gradient method, solvent A [water + 0.1% formic acid (v/v)] and solvent B [acetonitrile + 0.1% formic acid (v/v)]. Conclusion : In this study, we isolated the major metabolites from the stem of Spiraea prunifolia var. simpliciflora by using MPLC and HPLC. UPLC-QqQ/MS was also used to quantify target compounds. Finally, we established methodology and performed the quantitative analysis on target compounds from the stem of Spiraea prunifolia var. simpliciflora.