Hay (1).ppt agronomy hay types and formation

Hay

1. HAY

2. Hay
Haymakingisaprocessofconvertinggreenforageintodryform
whichcanbestoredforlongperiod,easilytransportedwithout
dangerofspoilingwhilekeepingminimumlossofnutrientsand
drymatter.
Inhaymaking,moisturecontentofgreenforagesisnormally
reducedto15%from70-90%whichcanbedonebymanuallyor
withthehelpofdraughtanimalpowerorwithfullymechanized
system.

3. Hay
Theprocessofhaymakingdependsupontheavailabilityof
greenforages,climateandmanpower.
Undersub-humidandhumidtemperateclimate,dueto
slownessofdrying,lossbyspoilageshouldbeavoidedbydrying
thecropasquicklyaspossible.
Incontrast,inhotclimaticcountrieslikeIndia,rapidsundrying
leadstoadifferenttypeoflossduetobleachingwithconsequent
lossofcaroteneandvitamins.

4. Principles of hay making
•Inprocessofhaymaking,stomatainleavesareopensothatmoisturelossis
quickduringfirstfewhours.
•Afterwardsduetoescapeofwaterduetowilting,thestomatacloseand
waterhastofindwaysoutthroughthewaxyepidermisoftheleavesand
stemsandthemoistureinsidethestemstakesalittlelongertoevaporate.
•Hence,periodicaltiltingisrequiredtogetuniformdrying.

5. Principles of hay making
•Therateofdryingdependsontheweather,sunshine,windand
themoisturecontentoftheatmosphere.
•Dryingshouldbedoneasquicklyaspossibletominimizelosses.
Initiallybeforedrying,theherbagewillcontainbetween70to90
%ofmoisture,andthiswillhavetobereducedtobetween12
and15%ordertostorethehaysafely.

6. Qualities of good hay
Goodhaymustretainthecharacteristicgreencolourofthecropas
highlyaspossible.
Theremustbelowleafshatteringandmaximumamountofgreen
colourisretainedbythehay.Itgivesaroughideaaboutthequantity
ofcarotene.
Thehayshouldfreefromfungus,moldandbadodour.
Itshouldhaveatypicalaromaoftheforagefromwhichithasbeen
prepared.Thearomaofthehayincreasesthepalatabilityinthe
animals.

7. Qualities of good hay
Itshouldnothavemorethan15%moistureforsafestoring
withoutriskoffermentationandcombustion.
Itshouldmaintainleafinessoforiginalfodder
Itisfreefromundesirableweeds
Itshouldbefreefromdustandsoil

8. Crops suitable for hay making
•Cropswiththinstemsandmoreleavesarebettersuitedfor
haymakingastheydryfasterthanthosewiththick,pithystem
andsmallleaves.
•Thefoddercropshavingsoftandpliableleavesandstemsare
suitableformakinghay.
•LeguminousfodderslikeGreenberseem,Lucerneandcowpea
canalsobeusedtomakehay,ifshatteringofleavesisavoided.
•Foddermaize,sorghumandbajraaresuitableforsilagemaking
ratherthanhaymaking.Itisrecommendedtocrushthestem
andchopthefodderofthickstemmedcropbeforemakinghay.

9. Crops suitable for hay making
•Earlycutgramineouscrops,whicharenutritious,aremore
suitableforhaymaking.
•Leguminousfoddercrops(e.g.Cowpea,Lucerne,etc)shouldbe
harvestedattheflowerinitiationstageorwhencrownbuds
starttogrow.
•Grassesandsimilarfoddercropsshouldbeharvestedatthepre-
floweringstage.
•Atthisstage,thecrophasmaximumnutrientsandgreenmatter.
•Afterfloweringandseeding,grassescontainfewernutrients.

10. Stage of harvesting the crop for hay making
•Astheplantmatures,thenutritivevalueofthefodderdecreases.
•Proteinandenergycontentsarehighanddrymattercontentoffodderis
verylowduringearlystage.
•Duringlatterstagesi.e,whencropisfullbloom,theproteinanddigestibility
godown.
•But,thetotalyieldofdrymatterisincreased.So,thecropshouldbe
harvestedjustatpre-floweringstageorwhen10%ofthecropisinbloom
toharvestmorenutrientsandyieldwhilemakinghay.
•Duringwetandhotseason(kharif)thecropmaybeharvestedintheearly
Septemberwhenthemonsoonsareatdeclinewhileduringdryandcold
(Rabi)seasonthecropmaybeharvestedduringFebruary-Marchforhay
making.

11. Stage of harvesting the crop for hay making

12. Kinds of Hay-Legume hay
Legume hay
•This hay is prepared from the
following leguminous crop.
•Cowpea
•Lucerne
•Berseem
•Soybean
•Pea.
Legume Hay
1. Provides good quality and higher content of
DCP
2. Gives relatively higher amount ofTDN
3. Contains more carotene, Vitamin D and E
4. Contains more calcium and phosphorus
5. More palatable
6. Increases milk yield if fed to dairy cattle

13. Kinds of Hay-Non-legume hay
Non-legume hay
•Non-legume hay is made from the
following crops.
•Napier grass
•Sorghum
•Barley
•Bajra
•Oat
Non –Legume hay
1.Lesspalatableascomparedto
legumehay
2.Provideslessofmineralsand
vitamins
3.Thelossesofnutrientsisless

14. Kinds of Hay-Mixed hay
Mixedhay
•Mixtureofleguminousandnon-
leguminousfoddermakesmixed
hay.
•SoybeanandNapier
•PeaandOat
•Cowpeaandsorghum
•OatandLucerne
•BarleyandLucerne
Mixedhay
•Ascomparedtonon-legumehay,
thequalityofthemixedmaybe
expectedtobebetterthanthatof
non-legumehay.

15. Important points for hay making
1. The fodder for hay making should be leafy with tender and thin stem.
2. It should contain 7-10 % protein.
3. The harvested crop should be dried in field till it reaches 60% dry matter. Then it should be
dried until it reaches 85% dry matter on special type of frame made for this purpose.
4. Occasional tilting of grass is necessaryfor proper curing.
5. The stored hay should not contain more than 15% moisture.
6. The hay should bedried as early as possible
7. There should be no loss of leaves during harvesting, transportation and drying.
8. Thebest time for harvesting is early morningwhen dew has dried off which helps in proper
spreading and drying of grasses over the field under sunrays.
9. The suitable crop for hay making should be harvested at flowering stage.

16. Methods of hay making

17. I. Spreading forage crop in field
•Inthemorning,afterdews
driesupthecropsinbloom
stageareharvestedand
spreadinlayersof10inchon
groundlevel.
•Thecroplayersneedtobe
turned upsidedown
periodicallyforeffective
dryinguntilmoisturecontent
remains15%.

18. II. Windrows method
•Afterkeepinghaycropsforsundryingtothefieldforonedayand
thencollectedintosmallheapsintheformofconeshape.Theseare
turnedperiodicallyuntilmoisturelevelremainstoanextentof15%.
Thispracticeisverycommoninhillyregions.
•Thefieldcuringduringrainyseasonshouldbeavoidedsincethe
dryingisslowandtheremaybeconsiderablelossofnutrientsdueto
plantenzymeactivity.

19. II. Windrows method
Advantages of field curing
1.Noexcesscostofinvolvement
exceptlabourcost.
2.Nospecializedstructureis
needed.
3.Reducethetransportcostsince
hayispreparedatthesiteitself.
Disadvantages
1.Itisnotpossibletomakehay
duringhumidcondition
2.Ifitrainslossofnutrientsare
more.
3.Turningalsomaycauseheavyloss
ofnutrientsduetoshatteringloss.

20. II. Windrows method

21. III. Farm fenced method drying
•In this method the grasses after harvesting is spread over in layer
on barbed wire fencing or boundary wall of the farm. It has to
be tilted once or twice for proper curing and then stored.

22. IV. Tripod or pyramid method drying
•Thetripodismadeupofthreewoodenorironpieceswitha
heightof2.5to3meters.Withthehelpofordinaryropeorwire,
anetworkismadeabovetheframe.
•Then,thegrassisspreadovertheframeandisoccasionally
tiltedwiththehelpoflongstickorbambooforevendrying.
•Thisisthebestmethodofhaymakingduringrainyseason.
Here,thereisnocontaminationofsoil.

23. IV. Tripod or pyramid method drying
Advantages
1.Thedryingisquickbecause
increaseintotalareaofexposureto
sun.
2.Duetoquickdrying,thelossof
nutrientisless.
3.Thereisnodirectcontactofhay
withsoilsincetheactionof
microbesisavoided.
4.Thelossofnutrientislesseven
thoughifrainsduringhaymaking.

24. V. Barn drying
•Thehaycanbepreparedinbarnspeciallypreparedforthis
whichhasfalsefloororfacilitytobloweitherheatedor
nonheatedairfromgroundsurfacewiththehelpofdraft
blowers.
•Thisissuitableinadverseweatherconditionswherethereisno
sunlight.
•Cropsafterharvestingfirstdriedinthefielditselfuntilloss.
•ThismethodretainshigherlevelofVitaminA.Afterthat,crops
aredriedonthebarn.ThebarndryingisnotpracticedinIndia.

25. V. Barn drying

26. V. Barn drying
Advantages
1.Reducethetransportcost
2.Savestimesincedryingtimeis
reduced.
3.Thelossofnutrientsisavoided.
4.Thelossofleavesislessas
comparedtofieldcuring.
Disadvantages
1.Thecostofdryingishigh.
2.Thedryingisnotuniformsincecrop
layerfacingtheblowerquicklythan
upperlayer.
3.Theturningisnotpossiblefor
uniformdrying.
4.Itisnotsuitableunderhighhumidity
region.
5.Lossesduetofermentationis
slightlyhigh.

27. VI. Dehydration of Forages
•This process is removal of moisture
from forages by hot air circulation
for rapid drying using driers
•Types of drier
•1. Low temperature drier
•a. Tray drier
•b. Conveyor belt driers which are
three types.
•Single belt conveyors
•Double belt conveyors
•Multi-belt conveyors
2. High temperature drying
•Rotary drum drier
•Pneumatic tower
•Combination of both
3. Solar driers
•Thiswillhelpinpreservingthe
greencolourandcarotenesinthe
fodder.

28. VI. Dehydration of forages
Advantages
1.Theforagesaredriedquickly.
2.Thelossofleavesisminimized
duetolesserhandlingofforages.
3.Theplantenzymeactivityis
reduced.
4.Biggerbalesofforagecanalsobe
dried.
Disadvantages
1.Requiresdehydrationplantwhich
iscostlytoconstruct.
2.Maintenanceplantcostishigh.
3.Processingcostishigh.
4.Theoperationskillisrequired.

29. Storage of hay
Hayshouldcontainmoistureupto15%only.Over-drying
undersunlightresultsinlossofproteinandcarotenecontent.
Under-dryingcausesfermentationandformationofpoor
qualityhay.Thehayisgenerallystoredinthefollowingforms.

30. Loose hay
•Itispreparedbydryingundersuninlooseformwhenever
required.Itcanbestoredinopenenvironmentasfollows.
i.Haycanbestackedonground
ii.Haystoredonplatform
iii.Haystackedontree

31. Chopped hay
•Herbagesarecutintosmallpieceswithsizeof2-3inchesanddriedwhere
conditionsfordryingaregoodandsystemshighlymechanized;itisless
bulkyandbetterformechanicalhandling.
•But,itcannotbestoredinopenenvironmentbecauselossesofhaytake
placeduetowindandrain.

32. Baled hay
•Originallybalingwasbyhandandthenbystationarymachines.Ithasbeen
automatedsincethe1950s,withtheintroductionofthepick-upbaler.Big
baleswhichcanbeindividuallyhandledbyatractormountedwithfrontend
loader.Suitableforlarge-scalefarming;roundbalesarethesimplestto
makeandmostpopular.Theirshapepreventstherainwater.Hayis
compressedintosmallorbigbales.Itisusuallycubiclebundles.Itrequires
lessspaceandtransportiseasyandwastagecanbeavoided.

33. Wafers
•Waferedhayisdenseandfree-flowing,soitiseasytotransport,handle
andstore.Fieldunitsareavailable,butexpensive;theyareusedforhigh-
qualitylegumehayinclimateswhichallowrapiddrying.Thelonghayis
choppedinto3-5cmlongandthencompressedinthewaferingmachine.
Lossesarelowerthanwithbaling.

34. Pelleted hay
•Thepellets:aftergrindinghay,itiscompressedintosmall
cylinderwith4incheslong.Itispalatableandreducesfeeding
lossandstoragespace.

35. Advantages of hay making
Thehayprovidesthenutritiousfeedtothelivestockduringthelean
seasonwhenthereisscarcityoffodder
Thegoodqualitylegumehaymayreplacecertainamountof
concentrateintherationandtherebyshallreducethecostof
production.
Therationoftheanimalscanbebalancedwiththehelpofgood
qualityhay.

36. Losses in hay making

37. Measures to minimize nutrient losses
•Lossisinfluencedbythetypeofforagespecies,kindofhaymaking
equipment's,storagefacilities,andtheweatherconditionsatharvesting,
dryingandstoring.
•Theenergylossfromforageduringhaymakingcanvaryinawiderange
between5and100%.
•Undergooddryingconditionsdrymatterlossesarebetween15and18%
andwithraindamage,upto30%DM.

38. Measures to minimize nutrient losses
•Ingeneral,averagehaymakingprocessesleadtoa24to28%lossinforagedry
matteryield,mostofwhichisduringharvestandabout5%lossduringstorage.
•Stageofmaturity,overdryingespeciallyforleafypasturesandtimeofbaling
contributedtothemajorlossofdrymatterandnutrientsduringtheprocessofhay
making.
•Acarefulfollow-upoftheoptimumharvestingstage,lengthofdryingperiodand
timeofbalingisofparamountimportance.

39. Losses in hay making
•Inhaymaking,tokeeplossesandspoilagetoaminimum,
producer’sskillandexperienceareimportantwhichdependson
thejudgmentoftheproducer.
•Themainwayofminimizinglossistodrytheherbageasrapidly
andasevenlyaspossible,andhandleitwithcarethereafter.

40. Loss due to Shattering of leaves
•Shatteringofleaves–Thislossismorecommoninleguminouscropslike
Lucerne,berseemandcowpeainwhichleavesaredriedearlierthanstems.
•Ifdryingisprolongedwithoutturning,theleavesbecomebrittleand
shattered.
•Asnutrientsarerichandconcentratedinleaves,shatteringofleavesresults
inlossofnutrientsnamely,vitamins,totaldigestiblenutrientsand
sometimesminerals.
•Thislosscanbereducediftheforagesarechaffedbeforecuringthemfor
hay.
•Leguminoushaysshouldbetransportedfromthefieldearlyinthemorning
sothatwithdewthereislessshatteringofleaves.

41. Loss due to Bleaching (sun-drying)
•Bleaching(sun-drying)–Duetoover-exposureofforagetosunlight,
bleachingoccurs.
•ItresultsinlossofcaroteneandvitaminA.Ifgreengrassesareexposedto
sunlightforlongerperiodwithoutturning,allthecarotenewillbelost.
•Fromabout150-200ppmofcaroteneingreengrassmaybereducedto
5-10ppmduetobleaching.So,toconservecarotene,dryingofthecropin
tripodstandisrecommended

42. Loss due to Leaching
•Leaching–Whenthereareprolongedrainsduringpreparationofhay,
severelossesduetoleachingoccurswhichcauseslossofprotein,
NFE,solubleminerals,vitaminandTDN.
•Itoccursifrainfallsonthecropduringthecuringprocess.Re-wetting
ofpartiallydriedhayismuchmoreseriousthanrainonnewly-cut
herbage,andcancausebothleachingandincreasedmoulddamage.

43. Loss due to Fermentation
•Fermentation–Afterthecropisharvested,theplantenzymes
actonthesolublecarbohydratesandproducecarbondioxide.
Assoonasthecropismown,enzymaticoxidationofthesapand
theactivityofbacteriaandmouldsonthecropsurfacecauses
losses,withgenerationofheat.
•Innormalhaymakingprocesssomeofthenutrientsarelostdue
tofermentation.
•Eventhoughmajorlossisincarbohydratefractionofhay,some
proteinlossalsooccursbecauseofleaching.

44. Loss due to Fermentation
•Ifthecropisnotaeratedsufficientlytodissipatetheheat,
seriousdamagecanoccur.
•Turningmustthereforebepromptandadequate.Whenhays
arenotcuredproperlyandstoredwithhighmoisture,the
bacteriaandfungalgrowthoccurswhichresultinfurther
fermentationofstarch,simplesugarsandproteins.
•Itisestimatedthatinanormalcuringthereisalossofabout5-9
%ofdrymatter.

45. Oxidation and Mechanical leaf loss
•Oxidation–Whenrainwatermakeshaywet,theoxidationof
nutrientstakesplace.Thisresultinlossofsugarsandstarch.
•Mechanicalleafloss-Occursduringturningandfieldhandling.

46. Spoilage in the stack or bale
•Spoilageinthestackorbale-isparticularlydangerous,andcanleadtothe
lossoftheentireharvest,usuallyasaresultofstoringmaterialwhichisat
toohighamoisturecontentorpoorlydesignedstackswhichallowrain
penetrationorthosewhichdonotallowsomeventilation.
•Theidealmoisturecontentforstackingorbalingdependsonthecropand
thesiteandexperienceandfieldjudgmentmustbethegeneralguide.
•Thefarmermustjudgebyfeelandmakeadecisioninthelightofthe
prevailingweather:Whentheherbagefeelscrispinthehandanddoesnot
showmoisturewhentwisted,itisprobablythesafemoisturecontentof15-
20%andthehayisreadytobale.

47. Spoilage in the stack or bale
•Moisturemetersarenotgenerallyavailablenorareconvenienttouseinthe
field.
•Fine-leaved,thin-stemmedherbagedriesmostquickly;largecoarsegrasses
withthickstemsandnodes(e.g.,Sudangrass)canstillhavealotofjuicein
thestemsaftertheleavesarequitedry.
•Inextremecases,thefermentationmayraisetemperaturestolevels
wherespontaneouscombustionoccurs.
•Poorlycuredormouldyhaywillleadtopoorintakeorrefusalbystock,and
maycontainmycotoxins.Mouldyhayalsogivesrisetoahumandisease
knownas"farmers'lung."

48. Burnt hay-due to excess moisture

49. Nutrient and digestibility losses
•Lossofdigestibility-Loweringofdigestibilityisobservedduetodryingof
forages.
•Lossofnutritivevalue-Carbohydrates,nitrogenoussubstancesand
vitaminsareknowntoreduceduringhaymaking.

50. Hay Price

51. Topics covered
•Hay definition
•Principles of hay making
•Qualities of good hay
•Crops suitable for hay making
•Stage of harvesting the crop
for hay making
•Kinds of Hay
•Important points for hay
making
•Methods of hay making
•Storage of hay
•Advantages of hay making
•Losses in hay making