A recent study shows that new cicer milkvetch varieties have an edge over alfalfa.
“Cicer milkvetch has an advantage in that it is a bloat safe legume with high forage quality for grazing during the growing season and as a stockpiled forage for fall grazing,” says Paul Jefferson, a forage management re-searcher and vice-president of operations for the Western Beef Development Centre.
Jefferson and his small plot re-search trials were one of the four bus tour stops that visitors made during a summer field day at the Termuende Research Ranch near Lanigan, Sask., June 23.
Read Also
Cereal drought tolerant ratings hard to compile
Cereals and most crops have ratings for disease resistance, yield potential, straw height and other traits, but not drought tolerance. Right now, that sort of information is anecdotal
Cicer milkvetch is recognizable with its alternate 16 to 20 pinnated leaflets up and down the branches. The long-living perennial usually has a flower head at the top that’s white compared to alfalfa’s purple, green and yellow.
He said it made sense to conduct the two-year trial using alfalfa and the two new cicer milkvetch varieties: AC Oxley ll and Veldt.
“We think that’s a good comparison to make,” he said.
“People often refer back to alfalfa as the queen of the forages, the high quality forage legume, so we better compare this to alfalfa.”
The study also compared the forage quality of the two new cicer milk-vetches to the standard Oxley, which was developed at Agriculture Canada’s Lethbridge Research Centre in the 1980s. It was found to be superior to alfalfa in terms of protein and digestibility when stockpiled and harvested in October.
However, germination of Oxley could be inhibited because of its hard round seed coat. Research continued to improve seeding vigour, and AC Oxley II was released in 1996.
Continued research into improved forage production saw the second variety, Veldt, in 2001. It produced 20 percent more dry matter yield than Oxley.
Jefferson said it’s not recommended practice to grow cicer milkvetch on its own in Saskatchewan, so hybrid brome grass was mixed in with the three varieties and alfalfa.
The trial also used three harvest management systems:
- Simulating grazing by clipping the crop three times a year.
- Stockpiling allowed the plot to grow untouched from green up until it was harvested in mid-October.
- Cutting hay in late June or early July and then stockpiling regrowth before harvesting it in mid-October.
Jefferson said two years of statistical analysis have found that the third system produced the best combination of yield and quality going into the fall with all three varieties.
“Really, the bottom line to summarize it all is that the three cicer milkvetch varieties performed very, very similarly,” he said.
“They have similar quality, similar crude protein and similar total adjustable nutrients (TDN) and better than alfalfa.”
Jefferson said producers trying to provide high quality forage would find the results valuable.
“Maybe you’re looking at helping your cows recover after weaning. You want a pasture where they’re going to put on a little weight before they go into a lower cost winter grazing program,” he said. “Cicer milkvetch certainly fits that bill.
“The other thing that we found is that the hay and stockpile program really was the best in terms of forage yield. The forage yield was highest in the system where we harvested twice.”
The study also showed that while alfalfa and cicer milkvetch do not thrive in dry conditions, alfalfa recovered when moisture finally arrived, while cicer milkvetch didn’t.
“Based on my experience, I would put alfalfa as more drought tolerant than cicer milkvetch,” he said.
Cicer milkvetch is also slower to establish than alfalfa. Even with the improvement of Oxley ll, it takes two weeks to a month longer to initiate.
“But that’s not too much of a limitation to have a bloat safe legume,” he said.
Cicer milkvetch thrives in moist areas such as the parkland region where there is less drought stress.
“I would say that cicer milkvetch is a great opportunity legume for people who want to improve pastures, increase pasture productivity and link that to beef production and improve your beef production per acre.”
Jefferson said producer feedback has found cases where cattle refuse to eat cicer milkvetch. As a result, he is looking for a third year of funding to test its chemical characteristics.
“To see if we can find any secondary metabolites, or anything that would be contributing to animals avoiding it or not grazing it,” he said.
