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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2015, Vol. 24 ›› Issue (12): 112-120.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2015294

• Orignal Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effect of nitrogen fertilization rate and cutting height on yields, nutritive values and root-rot incidence in forage ramie

BAI Yu-Chao1, GUO Ting1, 2, YANG Rui-Fang1, SHE Wei1, CAO Yi1, XIAO Cheng-Xiang1, CUI Guo-Xian1, *   

  1. 1.Ramie Research Institute of Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China;
    2.Guiyang County Tobacco Monopoly Administration, Hunan Province, Guiyang 424000, China
  • Received:2015-06-09 Online:2015-12-20 Published:2015-12-20

Abstract: Ramie (Boehmeria nivea) is rich in nutrients, and is a protein source for animal feed. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of nitrogen fertilization rate and cutting height on forage yields, nutritive values and root-rot (a common disease in ramie) of Xiangzhu-3 and Tri-1 varieties, and thus provide advisory support for use of Xiangzhu-3 and Tri-1 ramie varieties as a forage crop. A field trial was conducted with a two-factor randomized block design (3×3), including three cutting height levels (40 cm, D1; 70 cm, D2; 100 cm, D3) and three levels of nitrogen fertilizer (0 kg/ha, N1; 92 kg/ha, N2; 138 kg/ha, N3). Dry matter yield (DM), nutrient content and root-rot incidence were measured to elucidate the effect of different nitrogen fertilization and cutting height treatments on the feeding value of Xiangzhu-3 and Tri-1 ramie varieties. Nitrogen fertilization and cutting height had significant effects on biomass, dry matter (DM) yield, crude protein (CP), crude fat (EE), crude ash (Ash), crude fiber (CF) and phosphorus (P) contents of Xiangzhu-3 and Tri-1. Cutting height was the dominant factor affecting DM and CF. For CP content, Xiangzhu-3 was most influenced by cutting height, while Tri-1 responded to by nitrogen fertilization. Both EF and CF data displayed significant interaction between cutting height and nitrogen fertilization. Additionally, both ramie varieties had greatest DM, CP, and EE under the N2 treatment within each cutting height treatment, while the CF content was decreased with increased nitrogen fertilization levels. In each nitrogen fertilization treatment, the CP, calcium (Ca) and P contents of Xiangzhu-3 and Tri-1 were decreased and the biomass and CF were increased with increased cutting heights. Increasing cutting frequency increased the root-rot incidence of Xiangzhu-3 and Tri-1. In summary, this study indicated that the optimal clipping height and nitrogen fertilization treatments of Xiangzhu-3 and Tri-1 ramie varieties were 70-100 cm and 92 kg/ha, respectively.