Assessment of quality properties of perennial forage legumes

Alfalfa and red clover are the most popular perennial forage legumes and rich sources of high nutritional voluminous forage for livestock feed. Today, due to low level and insufficient production of plant proteins for both animal and human nutrition, in most EU countries the improvement of the quality of legumes is one of the strategic goals of numerous breeding programs. The aim of the study was to determine the variation of protein content (PC) and neutral and acid detergent fiber (NDF, ADF) in 47 alfalfa (A) and red clover (RC) cultivars/populations, to estimate relative feed value (RFV) and to recognize desirable superior materials for further improvement of quality properties. Samples of the green mass of each population/cultivar were taken in the second cut of the second growth season (2016) from three repetitions of an established field experiment at the Agricultural Institute Osijek. The chemical analysis was performed according to standard protocol (FOSS Tecator Kjeltec 2300 and FOSS Tecator FiberCup 2021/2023). Significant differences (p=0.01) between populations/cultivars were found for all observed traits. The variation ranged from 21.2-23.1% (A) and 18.5-21.8% (RC) for PC, 38.2-44.6% (A) and 40.4-47% (RC) for NDF and 28.4-32.7% (A) and 24.6-31.5% (RC) for ADF. In both plant species RFV ranged from 129.9 to 161.3, which, according to the quality standards for forage legumes, is classified as a category of high quality to excellent fodder. Several superior populations were identified and will be used to further improve the nutritional value of forage crops.