Experimental cultivation of a new forage species - Silphium perfoliatum L. - in the Agrobotanical Garden from Cluj-Napoca

Based on results of Niqueux (1981) Silphium perfoliatum (Asteroideae, Heliantheae) germplasm preserved in our garden was used for the introduction of this newly emerging forage species in experimental cultivation. As generative reproduction proved to be allowed, plants were reproduced by rhizomes. The influence of bud number per rhizome, fertilization and the inclination of the plot on the growth dynamics and production were studied. Plots were harvested in 1983 and 1984 for silage and seed. The average production of hay in one cut was 6,7 t/ha in 1983 and 6,3 t/ha in 1984. The best plot yiealded 15,7 (1983) and 10,8 t/ha hay. Average seed yield was in 1984: 587 kg/ha, the highest yield was 1265 kg/ha. In so far as we know, this is the first introduction of the species in cultivation for economic purposes (forage or biomass ) in Romania.