Our project team members from the University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture presented some results of field research done as a part of the Dinara back to LIFE project at the 57th Croatian and 17th International Symposium on Agriculture in Vodice.
Data collected during botanical field studies conducted by the employees of BIOM Association on grasslands in Validžići, Ježević, and Vrdovo were used to estimate the forage value of these grasslands using the „Complex method“ for evaluation of the quality and total value of grasslands and leys.
The „Complex method“ takes into account the botanical composition of grassland, the weight share of plants, and many other factors that can affect the forage quality of a plant such as poisonousness, digestibility, plants’ morphology, chemical composition, etc. Based on its characteristics, a plant is sorted into one of categories (from „very noxious“ to „excellent“). Coefficients corresponding to each category are used in calculating the total value of grasslands. Quality index is a summary of multiples of coefficients and plants’ weight shares.
The forage value of a grassland tells us whether it’s appropriate for pasture and forage production and if amelioration methods should be used to improve its quality.
Our results have shown that grasslands in Validžići and Ježević had significantly higher quality than those in Vrdovo which is probably connected to the high weight share of species of the genus Sesleria on Vrdovo grasslands. On average, grasslands in Validžići had the highest quality indices.
The complete article by Kutnjak et al. can be found on the following link –
https://dinarabacktolife.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/vrijednost-pasnjaka.pdf
Link to the poster presented on the Symposium –
https://dinarabacktolife.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/poster1.pdf
