• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.253-260
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• 2014

Purpose: This study investigated the harvesting properties of the giant miscanthus (Miscanthus ${\times}$ giganteus) to measure the required mowing power for different stem conditioning methods in order to shorten the drying time after mowing and the bale density so that the crop can be used as biomass in the winter season. Methods: The required mowing power and bale density were measured using a power measurement device, three different mower-conditioners, and a mid-sized round baler under different working speeds and conditioning methods. Results: For the various mower-conditioners, the average stem length from mowing was 0.86-0.91 m, and the available working speed was 1.6 m/s. The steel roller-type mower-conditioner showed better stem conditioning but could not mow over a working speed of 1.6 m/s. The required average power of the mower-conditioners varied from 23.8 kW for the steel roller-type rotary disk mower-conditioner with a working width of 2.4 m to 37.2 kW for the flail-type rotary disk mower-conditioner with a working width of 3.2 m at a working speed of 1.6 m/s. The bale densities were $155.8-172.2kg/m^3$. The highest bale density was measured for stems with no conditioning and a moisture content of 11.3% (d.b.) mowed by the rotary disk mower. The bale density was affected by the mowing method because of the low moisture content of the miscanthus stems. Conclusions: In terms of the working performance and conditioning statue, the steel roller-type mower-conditioner is a better choice at a working width of 2.4 m, while the flail finger-type mower-conditioner is better at a working width of 3.2 m. The type of mower-conditioner used for giant miscanthus harvesting should be determined by considering the harvest area, workable period, and working performance of a mower-conditioner and baler during the winter.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.259-266
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• 1998

A field experiment was carried out to determine the effects of mechanical and chemical drying agents at mowing on the field drying rate and hay quality of orchardgrass dominant pasture plants. The mower conditioner /chemical drying agent ($K_2CO_3$ 2% conditioning, $K_2CO_3$ 2% + conditioning and control) were treated at different harvest stages (late boot, heading and bloom stage) for hastening hay manufacture in 1996. After field dry, four square bales were made by hay baler, and the visual estimation and nutritive value of hay were evaluated after storing two months. The field drying rate of pasture plants was higher with delayed stage of harvest, and mechanical and mechanical + chemical, but chemical alone was very low. In mower conditioning, the duration of field dry was shortened by 0.5 to 1 day compared with $K_2CO_3$ and 1.5 to 2 days compared with control. The dry matter loss of hay was reduced by late harvest and mechanical, and mechanical + chemical, but the score by chemical alone was very low. The visual score (leafiness, green color, odor and softness) of hay after storage was high in mechanical and mechanical + chemical, but the score by chemical alone was very low. Nutritive value (ADF, NDF, digestibility, and relative feed value) of hay was also high with treatment of mechanical and mechanical + chemical, but the quality by chemical alone was similar compared with control. The quality of hay was very low when harvested at bloom stage. In conclusion, mower conditioning can enhance the field drying rate of orchardgrass dominant pasture plants, however the drying efficiency of chemical drying agent was very low. Harvesting at early heading to heading stage was recommened for manufacture of high quality hay.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.251-258
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• 1999

A field experiment was carried out to determine the effects of chemical /mechanical treatments at mowing on the field drying rate and hay quality of rye (Secale cereale L.). The chemical drying agent/mower conditioner ($K_2CO_3$ 2%, conditioning, $K_2CO_3$ 2% + conditioning and control) were treated at different harvest stage (late boot, heading and bloom stage) for hastening hay-making in the spring of 1996. After field dry, square bales were made by hay baler, and the dry matter(DM) loss, visual estimation and nutritive value of rye hay were evaluated after storing two months. The field drying rate of rye was higher with delayed stage of harvest, and mechanical and chemical + mechanical treatment, but the effectiveness of chemical alone was very low. With mower conditioning, the duration of field dry was shortened by 1.5 to 2 days compared with control. The DM loss of rye hay was reduced by late harvest and mechanical, and chemical + mechanical combined treatment, but the efficiency by chemical alone was very low. The visual score (Ieafiness, green color, odor and softness) of hay after storing was high in mechanical and chemical + mechanical, but the score by chemical alone was very low. The nutritive value (ADF, NDF, digestibility, and relative feed value) of hay was also high with treatment of mechanical and chemical + mechanical, but the quality by chemical alone was similar compared with control. The quality of hay was very low when harvested at bloom stage. In conclusion, mower conditioning can enhance the field drying rate of rye, but the drying effectiveness of chemical drying agent was very low. The effect of chemical/mechanical combined treatment was very similar when compared with mechanical alone. Harvest at early heading to heading stage was recommended for high quality rye hay.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.323-328
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• 1998

A field experiment was carried out to determine the effects of chemical and mechanical treatment at mowing on the field drying rate and hay quality of autumn oat (Avena sativa L.). The chemical drying agent/mower conditioner ($K_2CO_3$ 2%, conditioning, $K_2CO_3$ 2% + conditioning and control) were treated at different harvest stages (late boot, heading and bloom stage) for hastening hay manufacture in the autumn of 1996. After field dry, square bales were made by hay baler, and the dry matter(DM) loss and visual estimation of oat hay were evaluated after storing two months. In general, the field drying rate of oat was slow, regardless of harvest stage. Mechanical and chemical + mechanical treatment were effective, but the effectiveness of chemical alone was very low. With mower conditioning, the duration of field dry was shortened by 2 days compared with control. The DM loss of hay was higher at boot stage(51.4%) than at heading stage (21.1%), and the DM loss was reduced by mechanical and chemical + mechanical combined treatment. The visual score (leafiness, green color, odor and softness) of hay after storing was high in mechanical and chemical + mechanical, but the score by chemical alone was very low. The nutritive value (ADF, NDF, digestibility, and relative feed value) of hay was also high with treatment of mechanical and chemical + mechanical, but the quality by chemical alone was similar compared with control. In conclusion, mower conditioning can enhance the field drying rate of autumn oat, but the drying efficiency of the chemical drying agent was very low. However, it is suggested that hay-making of oat in autumn is very hard though using mower conditioner.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.1109-1112
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• 2000

A field experiment was carried out to determine the effects of mechanical and chemical conditioning at mowing on field drying rate and quality of grass hay in 1996. Mower conditioner and/or chemical drying agent $(K_2CO_3)$ were used at different harvest stages (late boot, heading and bloom stages) for hastening hay-making. After field drying, square bales were made by hay baler, and the visual estimation and nutritive value of hay were evaluated after storing two months. In mower conditioning, the duration of field drying was shortened by 0.5 to 1 day compared with drying agent, and by 1 to 2 days compared with control. The drying matter loss of hay was reduced by late harvest and mechanical conditioning. The visual score (leafiness, green color, odor and softness), and acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), in vitro dry matter digestibllity (IVDMD), and relative feed value (RFV) of hay were improved with mechanical conditioning, but chemical alone had little effect on quality. The quality of hay harvested at bloom stage was much lower than that of hay harvested at late boot and heading stage. In conclusion, mower conditioning can enhance the field drying rate of grass hay, however the drying efficiency of chemical drying agent is very low. Also the effects of chemical/mechanical combined conditioning are very similar compared with mechanical conditioning alone. Harvesting at late boot to heading stage is recommended for the production of high quality hay.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.67-74
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• 2001

A field experiment was carried out to determine the effects of chemical/mechanical treatments at mowing on the field drying rate and hay quality of alfalfa(Medicago sativa L., cv. Vernal) and spring oats(Avena satvia L., cv. Swan). The chemical drying agent of 2% $K_2CO_3$, mechanical mower conditioning, and no treatment(control) were treated for hastening hay-making in the spring of 1997. The forages were harvested at early bloom stage in alfalfa and heading stage in oats. After field dry, square bales were made by hay baler, and the dry matter(DM) loss, visual estimation and nutritive value of hay were evaluated after storing two months. The field drying rates of alfalfa and oats were high at mechanical treatment, but the drying effectiveness of chemical agents alone was very low. With mower conditioning, the duration of field dry was shortened by 1 day compared with control. therefore, mower conditioning enhance the field drying rate of alfalfa and oats. The DM loss of alfalfa and oats hay was reduced by mechanical treatment, but the efficiency by chemical alone was low. The visual score(leafiness, green color, odor and softness) of hay at mechanical treatment was slightly higher than that of chemical and control. The nutritive value(ADF, NDF, in vitro digestibility, and relative feed value) of hay was also high with treatment of mechanical, but those of chemical alone were similar compared with control. The nutritive value of hay after two months in both alfalfa and oats was decreased when compared with at harvest.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.807-815
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• 2015

The present study aimed at evaluating the intensity of Tifton 85 conditioning using a mower conditioner with free-swinging flail fingers and storage times on dehydration curve, fungi presence, nutritional value and in vitro digestibility of Tifton 85 bermudagrass hay dry matter (DM). The dehydration curve was determined in the whole plant for ten times until the baling. The zero time corresponded to the plant before cutting, which occurred at 11:00 and the other collections were carried out at 8:00, 10:00, 14:00, and 16:00. The experimental design was randomised blocks with two intensities of conditioning (high and low) and ten sampling times, with five replications. The high and low intensities related to adjusting the deflector plate of the free iron fingers (8 and 18 cm). In order to determine gas exchanges during Tifton 85 bermudagrass dehydration, there were evaluations of mature leaves, which were placed in the upper middle third of each branch before the cutting, at every hour for 4 hours. A portable gas analyser was used by an infrared IRGA (6400xt). The analysed variables were photosynthesis (A), stomatal conductance (gs), internal $CO_2$ concentration (Ci), transpiration (T), water use efficiency (WUE), and intrinsic water use efficiency (WUEi). In the second part of this study, the nutritional value of Tifton 85 hay was evaluated, so randomised blocks were designed in a split plot through time, with two treatments placed in the following plots: high and low intensity of cutting and five different time points as subplots: cutting (additional treatment), baling and after 30, 60, and 90 days of storage. Subsequently, fungi that were in green plants as well as hay were determined and samples were collected from the grass at the cutting period, during baling, and after 30, 60, and 90 days of storage. It was observed that Tifton 85 bermudagrass dehydration occurred within 49 hours, so this was considered the best time for drying hay. Gas exchanges were more intense before cutting, although after cutting they decreased until ceasing within 4 hours. The lowest values of acid detergent insoluble nitrogen were obtained with low conditioning intensity after 30 days of storage, 64.8 g/kg DM. The in vitro dry matter of Tifton 85 bermudagrass did not differ among the storage times or the conditioning intensities. There was no fungi present in the samples collected during the storage period up to 90 days after dehydration, with less than 30 colony forming units found on plate counting. The use of mower conditioners in different intensities of injury did not speed up the dehydration time of Tifton 85.

• Journal of Animal Environmental Science
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.69-74
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• 2013

A field experiment was carried out to determine the effects of conditioning methods and tedding frequency on the drying rate and quality of Italian ryegrass hay. Italian ryegrass was cut with three types of mower conditioners (un conditioned, impeller, roller) and tedded with rake-tedder once or twice daily during field curing. The field drying rate of Italian ryegrass hay was the highest in roller conditioner. Conditioning treatment shorten the date from 1 to 1.5 compare with unconditioned. Drying rate of Italian ryegrass plant had been affected by tedding frequency within 3 days after it was cut, but it was ineffective after 3 days. There is no effect on acid detergent fiber (ADF) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) but effect crude protein (CP) and relative feed value (RFV) by conditioning treatment in nutritive value of Italian ryegrass hay.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.171-177
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• 2019

Hay-making is one of the most common way for forage preservation in livestock industry. The quality and production of hay could be affected by various factors. This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of tedding time and frequency on drying rate and feed value of forage rye (Secale cereale L.) hay. Rye was harvested on heading stage using mower conditioner. Hay was tedded at each set hour(09:00, 13:00 and 17:00) and sampled at each set hour to determine dry matter (DM) content. After two months' preservation, CP (crude protein), ADF (acid detergent fiber), NDF (neutral detergent fiber), IVDMD (in vitro dry matter digestibility), TDN (total digestible nutrient), RFV (relative feed value), DM loss, visual scores and total fungi count were determined for estimation of hay quality. Tedding was necessary for both speeding up drying rate and improving forage quality. Tedding at 17:00 showed lower NDF content (p<0.05), and also higher RFV value was found compared with tedding at 9:00 and 13:00 (p<0.05). On the other hand, it was observed that more DM losses would be found when tedding later (p<0.05). Tedding in 1~3 times per day were lower in ADF and NDF content (p<0.05), increased CP, TDN and RFV (p<0.05), got less DM loss (p<0.05), and contained less fungi during conservation compared with no tedding (p<0.05). On the other hand, tedding too frequent caused more DM loss (p<0.05). In conclusion, for shorter drying process and higher quality of forage rye hay, tedding at 13:00~17:00 for 1~2 times per day was recommended in this study.