Perennial ryegrass with/without clover on two farms in Flanders: part II - nutritive value of fresh material and silage

Combining Lolium perenne (Lp) grass with Trifolium pratense (Tp) and Trifolium repens (Tr) is an alternative to achieve high crop DM yields and quality at lower N fertilisation levels. At two locations, an individual paddock was sown with Lp with and without Tp+Tr, managed under cutting and fertilised with 285 kg N ha^-1 year^-1 and 180 kg N ha^-1 year^-1 respectively. Forage samples were taken when the swards were cut and 1-2 days later when the forage was transported to the silo. DM (g kg DM) content, crude protein (CP), true protein digested in the small intestine (DVE), rumen degraded protein balance (OEB) and fodder unit milk (VEM) were determined in the samples. Lp+Tp+Tr with a high proportion of red and white clover had a tendency to be lower in DM, higher in CP and OEB, but had the same values for DVE and VEM in comparison with Lp, at the time of cutting and as prewilted silage.