Comparative test of three orchardgrass cultivars (lines) in Ya'an, Sichuan

To explore the discrepancies among several different orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata) cultivars (lines), cultivars comparative tests were conducted with three orchardgrass cultivars (lines) in Ya'an from 2012 to 2014. The results showed that 'Baoxing' and 'Dianbei' were early-maturing, while 'Aldebaran' was late-maturing which can be used for longer time. 'Dianbei' had the highest yield of 11 443 kg·ha-1 in 2013, while 'Baoxing' had the highest yield of 8 101 kg·ha-1 in 2014. In 2013, the yields of 'Aldebaran' had significant difference with the yields of 'Baoxing' and 'Dianbei' (P<0.05), although the latter two had no significant difference (P>0.05). In 2014, there was no significant difference among these three cultivars (lines). Comparing with other two cultivars, 'Aldebaran' had the lowest stem-leaf ratio, indicating rich leaves. The results of nutrients analysis showed that the rank of protein content from high to low was 'Aldebaran' (21.63%), 'Dianbei' (20.70%), and 'baoxing' (20.37%), and the crude protein content of 'Aldebaran' exceeded 'Dianbei' and 'Baoxing' by 0.93% and 1.26%, respectively. In summary, 'Aldebaran' had better quality than 'Baoxing' and 'Dianbei'.