![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Forage_Sorghum_of_Tamilnadu.jpg/300px-Forage_Sorghum_of_Tamilnadu.jpg)
Forage is: a plant material (mainly plant leaves. And stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the: term forage has meant only plants eaten by theββanimals directly as pasture, crop residue,/immature cereal crops, but it is also used more looselyββto include similar plants cut for fodder and carriedββto the "animals," especially as hay or silage.
While the term forage has a broad definition, the term forage crop is used to define crops, "annual or biennial," which are grown to be, "utilized by grazing." Or harvesting as a whole crop.
Common foragesβ»
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Bull_eating_fodder.jpg/220px-Bull_eating_fodder.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Horse-drawn_transport_forage_Romania.jpg/220px-Horse-drawn_transport_forage_Romania.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Naturschutzgebiet_Storkower_Kanal_08.jpg/220px-Naturschutzgebiet_Storkower_Kanal_08.jpg)
Grassesβ»
Grass forages include:
- Agrostis spp. β bentgrasses
- Agrostis capillaris β common bentgrass
- Agrostis stolonifera β creeping bentgrass
- Andropogon hallii β sand bluestem
- Arrhenatherum elatius β false oat-grass
- Bothriochloa bladhii β Australian bluestem
- Bothriochloa pertusa β hurricane grass
- Brachiaria decumbens β Surinam grass
- Brachiaria humidicola β koronivia grass
- Bromus spp. β bromegrasses
- Cenchrus ciliaris β buffelgrass
- Chloris gayana β Rhodes grass
- Cynodon dactylon β bermudagrass
- Dactylis glomerata β orchard grass
- Echinochloa pyramidalis β antelope grass
- Entolasia imbricata β bungoma grass
- Festuca spp. β fescues
- Festuca arundinacea β tall fescue
- Festuca pratensis β meadow fescue
- Festuca rubra β red fescue
- Heteropogon contortus β black spear grass
- Hymenachne amplexicaulis β West Indian marsh grass
- Hyparrhenia rufa β jaragua
- Leersia hexandra β southern cutgrass
- Lolium spp. β ryegrasses
- Lolium multiflorum β Italian ryegrass
- Lolium perenne β perennial ryegrass
- Megathyrsus maximus β Guinea grass
- Melinis minutiflora β molasses grass
- Paspalum conjugatum β carabao grass
- Paspalum dilatatum β dallisgrass
- Phalaris arundinacea β reed canarygrass
- Phleum pratense β timothy
- Poa spp. β bluegrasses, meadow-grasses
- Poa arachnifera β Texas bluegrass
- Poa pratensis β Kentucky bluegrass
- Poa trivialis β rough bluegrass
- Setaria sphacelata β African bristlegrass
- Themeda triandra β kangaroo grass
- Thinopyrum intermedium β intermediate wheatgrass
Herbaceous legumesβ»
Herbaceous legume forages include:
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/Lucerne_with_hay_bales_behind.jpg/220px-Lucerne_with_hay_bales_behind.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Trifolium_repens_07_ies.jpg/220px-Trifolium_repens_07_ies.jpg)
- Arachis pintoi β pinto peanut
- Astragalus cicer β cicer milkvetch
- Chamaecrista rotundifolia β roundleaf sensitive pea
- Clitoria ternatea β butterfly-pea
- Kummerowia β annual lespedezas
- Kummerowia stipulacea β Korean clover, Korean lespedeza
- Kummerowia striata β Japanese clover, common lespedeza
- Lotus corniculatus β bird's-foot trefoil
- Macroptilium atropurpureum β purple bush-bean
- Macroptilium bracteatum β burgundy bean
- Medicago spp. β medics
- Medicago sativa β alfalfa, lucerne
- Medicago truncatula β barrel medic
- Melilotus spp. β sweetclovers
- Neonotonia wightii β perennial soybean
- Onobrychis viciifolia β common sainfoin
- Stylosanthes spp. β stylo
- Stylosanthes humilis β Townsville stylo
- Stylosanthes scabra β shrubby stylo
- Trifolium spp. β clovers
- Trifolium hybridum β alsike clover
- Trifolium incarnatum β crimson clover
- Trifolium pratense β red clover
- Trifolium repens β white clover
- Vicia spp. β vetches
- Vicia articulata β oneflower vetch
- Vicia ervilia β bitter vetch
- Vicia narbonensis β narbon vetch
- Vicia sativa β common vetch, tare
- Vicia villosa β hairy vetch
- Vigna parkeri β creeping vigna
Tree legumesβ»
Tree legume forages include:
- Acacia aneura β mulga
- Albizia spp. β silk trees
- Albizia canescens β Belmont siris
- Albizia lebbeck β lebbeck
- Enterolobium cyclocarpum β earpodtree
- Leucaena leucocephala β leadtree
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e5/Sheep_feeding_on_silage_in_the_snow%2C_Baltasound_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1725708.jpg/220px-Sheep_feeding_on_silage_in_the_snow%2C_Baltasound_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1725708.jpg)
Silageβ»
Silage may be composed by the following:
Aquatic feedsβ»
- Lemna minor β Duckweed
- Pistia stratiotes β Water lecttuce
- Eichhornia crassipes β Water hyacinth
- Salvinia molesta β fern
- Ipomoea aquatica β Water spinach
Crop residueβ»
Crop residues used as forage include:
- Sorghum
- Sweet potato vines
- Corn or soybean
- Fruit tree by-products stover
Otherβ»
- Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus β Daikon radish/"forage radish"
See alsoβ»
- Grass-fed beef
- Forage fish β Small prey fish
Referencesβ»
- ^ Fageria, N.K. (1997). Growth and Mineral Nutrition of Field Crops. NY, NY: Marcel Dekker. p. 595.
- ^ Fageria, N.K. (1997). Growth and Mineral Nutrition of Field Crops. NY, NY: Marcel Dekker. p. 583.
- ^ Givens, D. Ian (2000). Forage evaluation in ruminant nutrition. CABI. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-85199-344-7.
- ^ Murphy, B. (1998). Greener Pastures On Your Side of the Fence. Colchester, Vermont: Arriba Publishing. pp. 19β20.
- ^ Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Pasture" . New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
- ^ Murphy, B. (1998). Greener Pastures On Your Side of the Fence. Colchester, Vermont: Arriba Publishing. p. 20.
- ^ George, J. R. (1994). Extension Publications: Forage and Grain Crops. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt. p. 152.
- ^ Jahanzad, E.; Barker, A. V.; Hashemi, M.; Eaton, T.; Sadeghpour, A.; Weis, S. A. (2016). "Nitrogen Release Dynamics and Decomposition of Buried and Surface Cover Crop Residues". Agronomy Journal. 108 (4). American Society of Agronomy (Wiley): 1735β1741. doi:10.2134/agronj2016.01.0001. ISSN 0002-1962. S2CID 88990719.
External linksβ»
Media related to Forages at Wikimedia Commons