Effects of Applied Nitrogen and Rest Period on Forage Production and Silage Quality

An experiment to analyse the effect of nitrogen (N) fertiliser and rest period initiation for silage making on permanent pasture was carried out. N fertiliser increased forage production, crude protein, neutral detergent fibre and ammonia-N. Shortening the intervals, by delaying the initiation of resting period, increased forage quality with only marginal decreases in dry matter (DM) production. Resting periods from the second week of September and cutting at the end of October or first week of November was appropriate in the Osorno area of Chile. The use of 60 kg N/ha is recommended. Two-cutting system must be considered in order to obtain high DM quality and quantity for animal production.