Study on Dry Matter Yields and Persistence of Forage Plants Using Cattle Feedlot Manure in Fallow Paddy Land Located in the Mid-mountain Area

Recently, fallow paddy land located in the mid-mountain area (FPL) due to a decrease in rice consumption has increased in some regions of our country. So, grasses and forage crops available for years in once sowing should be introduced in FPL. This study was conducted to develop the technique for cultivation of grasses and forage crops using animal manure in FPL The field experiments were carried out from 2007 to 2009 on FPL at Kumsan, Chungbuk province in Korea. Cattle feedlot manure (CFM) was prepared by mixing feces and urine of cattle with rice straw in cattle feedlot for 6 months. The experimental plots were consisted of four treatments; tall fescue-based mixed pasture applied with chemical fertilizer (Control), mono-tall fescue pasture (MTFP), tall fescue-based mixed pasture (TFBMP), mono- Perennial ryegrass (MPR-FCM), mono-Italian ryegrass (MIR-FCM), mono-Red clover (MRC-FCM) and mono-Reed canarygrass (MRCG-FCM) applied with FCM. The field of tall fescue-based pasture had been sown with a grasses mixture containing 'Fawn' tall fescue, 'potomac' orchardgrass, 'Reveille' Perennial ryegrass, and 'kenblue' Kentuky bluegrass, 'Kenland' Red clover. Seeding rates were 16, 6, 4, 2 and 2 ha 1 , respectively. DM yields of forages and rates of grass coverage was higher in MTFP, TFBMP and MRCG-FCM as compated with control treatment. This result means that FPL has contained with favorable conditions for growing grass, because forage productivity is more than 15 tons per ha per year in fallow paddy land. In addition, the farmer can save the trouble of repeated plowing and sowing every year, due to the introduction of perennial grasses. The farmer must conduct the re-seeding and induce the improvement of management methods for the elevation of the persistence of red clover and perennial ryegrass, because both red clover and perennial ryegrass having high nutritive value and palatability was less persistent. Therefore, we suggest that FPL may be the good land for forage production utilizing FCM and FCM can be applied on FPL without any negative effects on DM production and the property of soil.