This study was carried out to determine the effects of application levels of fertilizer and sowing methods on yields and nutritive values of Italian ryegrass (IRG) in early spring. Five fertilizer levels were used: Treatment 1, 100-80-80 kg/ha; Treatment 2, 120-100-100 kg/ha; Treatment 3, 140-120-120 kg/ha; Treatment 4, 160-140-140 kg/ha; Treatment 5, 140-120-120 kg/ha of N-P2O5-K2O with silicate fertilizer 200 kg/ha. Dry matter (DM) yield was 8,330 kg/ha in Treatment 5, 7,686 kg/ha in Treatment 4, and 7,347 kg/ha in Treatment 3. There was no significant difference in total digestible nutrients (TDN) content. The content of crude protein was the highest in Treatment 5. Dry matter ratio was the lowest in Treatment 5. In Treatment 3, DM yield was 7,347 kg/ha, when total amounts of fertilizers were applied at one time. However, DM yield was 7,405 kg/ha, when 50% of pre-planting fertilizer and 50% of supplementary fertilizer were applied at different time. There was no significant difference between total application and split application of fertilizers. However, DM yield was 9,469 kg/ha in application treatment with 100 kg/ha of additional urea at three to four leaf stages of IRG. Regarding DM yield by sowing methods of IRG, the following order was found: drill seeding (8,176 kg/ha) > rotary-broadcast seeding-stamping (7,957 kg/ha) > rotary-broadcast seeding (7,810 kg/ha) > broadcast seeding (7,347 kg/ha) > broadcast seeding-rotary (7,034 kg/ha). DM yield (59.57%) was the lowest in broadcast seedingrotary. Crude protein content was the highest with rotary work but the lowest with broadcast seeding.

This study was conducted to determine the effect of rainfall after cutting on nutritive value of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) hay. Fresh Italian ryegrass was treated with 3 days natural rainfall (56.5, 14.0 and 1.6 mm) after cutting without tedding. Rainfall effect on Italian ryegrass quality was evaluated based on Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF), crude protein (CP), crude fat (CF), crude ash (CA) and non-fiber carbohydrate (NFC). The quality of Italian ryegrass was decreased with extending raining days. The content of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) was increased from 0.4 to 4.7% by 1 day advancement in raining. CF content was decreased from 8.1 to 32.8%. CP and CA contents did not change, but NFC content was decreased from 0.5 to 8.4%. The quality damage by the number of raining days after cutting Italian ryegrass was the lowest on the first day from exposure to rain.

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of harvesting time of rice on growth characteristics and dry matter yields of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam., IRG) ‘Kowinearly’ after seeding them in paddy field. Experiments were performed in National Institute of Animal Science, RDA (Cheonan, Choongcheongnam-do province of Korea) for four years (2011~2014). Italian ryegrass variety ‘Kowinearly’ was seeded at experimental paddy fields before rice harvest in late September. Rice were harvested at 10, 20, and 30 days after seeding of IRG. As the harvest time of rice became later, the number of tillering before winter was reduced and IRG plant length before winter was shorter. The dry matter yield of IRG was also reduced. When rice were harvested at 20 days and 30 days after sowing of IRG compared to the rice harvested in autumn at 10 days after sowing of IRG, the number of tillering for IRG before winter was decreased by an average of 19% and 40%, respectively. The winter survival ratio of IRG was decreased by an average of 13% and 19%, respectively. Their dry matter yields were also reduced by an average of 8% and 19%, respectively. The heading date was different from each other in three years. The plant length at the time of IRG harvest in the spring was not significantly different among treatment groups. Taken together, our results suggest that when Italian ryegrass is grown in paddy fields by the method of ‘seeding of IRG before rice harvest’, rice should be harvested as soon as possible after sowing of IRG ‘Kowinearly’ in the autumn to increase forage productivity.

This study was conducted to evaluate the growth characteristics and dry matter yields of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam., IRG) cultivars for three years (2011~2013). The cold-resistance of domestic cultivars was stronger than other foreign varieties. Among early-maturing cultivars, dry matter (DM) yield of ‘Kowinearly’ was significantly higher (8,751 kg/ha) than other cultivars (p<0.05). In medium-maturing cultivars, DM yield of ‘Kowinmaster’ and ‘Tam 90’ was 9,394 and 7,461 kg/ha, respectively. Of the two, the former’s DM yield was higher than the latter’s (p<0.05). Among late-maturing cultivars, DM yield of ‘Hwasan 104’ (9,809 kg/ha) was similar to ‘Hwasan 101’ (9,354 kg/ha), but significantly higher than the other late-maturing cultivars (p<0.05). According to the results obtained from present study, early-maturing cultivars with cold-tolerance and high productivity is required for the paddy field cultivation of an Italian ryegrass cultivar after rice harvest in Cheonan region. Medium- and late-maturing cultivars are more advantageous for the dry field cultivation of the maximum quantity that is possible. In conclusion, to select which cultivar/s to grow, the climate of the growing area, weather conditions, and the cropping system must all be considered

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of the moisture content and pellet mill type on the physical and chemical characteristics of Italian ryegrass (IRG) pellet. Moisture content of raw material significantly (p<0.05) affected IRG pellet formation. Moisture content at 25% was the best condition for IRG pellet formation in terms of shape, power load and temperature changes. The hardness of pellet was decreased when moisture content was increase. However, the hardness of pellet was not affected by pellet mill type. Moisture content at 30% dramatically (p<0.05) decreased the durability compared to moisture content at 25%. Dry matter content of IRG pellet was increased (p<0.05) after pelleting. Total count of microorganism was decreased in pellet due to pressure heat and moisture losses during the pelleting process. These results indicated that the proper moisture content of Italian ryegrass pelleting would be at 25%. In addition, Roll & flat die type would be more suitable than Ring die and Die & flat die type in IRG pelleting. Pelleting works would be beneficial for improving forage quality and long storage.

The objective of this study was to construct Italian ryegrass (IRG) dry matter yield (DMY) estimation models in South Korea based on climatic data by locations. Obviously, the climatic environment of Jeju Island has great differences with Korean Peninsula. Meanwhile, many data points were from Jeju Island in the prepared data set. Statistically significant differences in both DMY values and climatic variables were observed between south areas of Korean Peninsula and Jeju Island. Therefore, the estimation models were constructed separately for south areas of Korean Peninsula and Jeju Island separately. For south areas of Korean Peninsula, a data set with a sample size of 933 during 26 years was used. Four optimal climatic variables were selected through a stepwise approach of multiple regression analysis with DMY as the response variable. Subsequently, via general linear model, the final model including the selected four climatic variables and cultivated locations as dummy variables was constructed. The model could explain 37.7% of the variations in DMY of IRG in south areas of Korean Peninsula. For Jeju Island, a data set containing 130 data points during 17 years were used in the modeling construction via the stepwise approach of multiple regression analysis. The model constructed in this research could explain 51.0% of the variations in DMY of IRG. For the two models, homoscedasticity and the assumption that the mean of the residuals were equal to zero were satisfied. Meanwhile, the fitness of both models was good based on most scatters of predicted DMY values fell within the 95% confidence interval.