New uses of clover-grass mixtures in the structure of fodder crops on arable land

The use of clover-grasses in the structure of fodder crops grown on arable soil, especially those with intergeneric hybrids as the main component part, could avert the negative current trend, i.e. further decreasing the area of perennial fodder plants or fodder crops on arable soil. In the Czech Republic, the area of fodder crops grown on arable soil decreased from 1,019.9 thousand hectares to 396.7 thousand hectares between 1980 and 2009. Clover crops and clover-grass are one of the main resources of voluminous fodder for dairy cows. Our aim was to verify the production and qualitative characteristics of fodder crops and mixtures in chosen areas of the Vysocina Region and to recommend the most suitable variants. A significant correlation was found out between the net energy for lactation contents and the percentage of organic matter digestibility. The evaluation of the production traits evidently shows the favourable influence of the grass component part or of intergeneric hybrids on the stability of dry matter yield per hectare as well as on the stability of individual nutrients.