Silage potential of different oat cultivars in the alpine pastures of Diqing

To select high-quality silage oat (Avena sativa) suitable for planting in the alpine pastures of Diqing, 11 cultivars were tested for growth period and conventional silage in the Pudatsuo National Park, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. Specifically, the fermentation quality and nutritional composition of silage were assessed after 60 days. Differences in nutritional quality before and after silage were compared to solve the problem of forage deficiency in the alpine areas of northwestern Yunnan. The following results were noted. 1) The 11 oat cultivars tested completed the reproductive period in the alpine pastures of Diqing, reaching the highest hay yield of 17 060.93 kg·ha⁻¹. 2) After silage, the total sensory evaluation score exceeded 16; eight oat cultivars showed better fermentation quality; and the highest lactic acid content was noted in ‘ESK’ (P < 0.05). 3) After silage, ‘LAMPTON’ showed the highest dry matter content; ‘Baler II’ showed the highest crude protein content (P < 0.05); and fiber content decreased in all cultivars. Comprehensive analysis of the nutritional and fermentation quality of silage from eight oat cultivars revealed that ‘Baler II’ (r = 0.808 5), ‘ESK’ (r = 0.749 5), and ‘Baler’ (r = 0.737 3) showed better silage quality, warranting promotion and cultivation as silage oat in the alpine pastures of Diqing.