Nutritive quality and morphological development under partial shade of some forage species with agroforestry potential

The shade environment produced in agroforestry practices affects the morphology, anatomy and chemical composition of intercropped forages and, therefore, may affect forage quality. During the summer-fall growing season of 1994 and 1995, 30 forage cultivars were grown in 7.6 L (two gallon) pots in full sun, 50%, and 80% shade created by placing shade cloth over a greenhouse frame. Fifteen legumes and grasses that were similar in yield under full sun and shade treatments were selected for quality analysis. With the exception of 'Kobe' lespedeza, D. paniculatum and D. canescens, acid detergent fiber (ADF) was either not affected or was slightly increased by shade. Except for Kobe lespedeza and 'Martin' tall fescue, shade either did not affect or slightly increased the neutral detergent fiber (NDF) of the shade-tolerant forages. Crude protein (CP) percentage increased in most shade-grown forages; however, shade had less effect on CP of legumes than of grasses. Other than Kobe lespedeza, total mass of CP per pot (TCP) was unaffected or increased under 50% shade for all species. Total crude protein of hog peanut, D. esmodium paniculatum and D. canescens was greater under both 50% shade and 80% shade than in full sun. The decrease in ADF of Kobe lespedeza, D. paniculatum and D. canescens under the shade treatments might be associated with maintenance of a higher leaf:stem weight ratio under shade. However, the leaf:stem ratios of the same cultivars grown at different light intensities did not strongly correlate with NDF, CP, and TCP values. In general, on selected species, internodal length and leaf area increased while specific leaf dry weight decreased for plants grown in shade compared to those grown in full sun. The data indicated that forage quality of some species could be enhanced by shade.