Effects of defoliation (cutting) on forage yield and quality of selected kenaf accessions

A defoliation management trial to determine optimum harvest interval and cutting height on three kenaf accessions was implemented at MARDI Station, Serdang. Accession Tainung-2 outperformed Khon Kaen 60 and Cuba 108 in terms of dry matter yield. The response of the three accessions to defoliation intervals and heights was similar. Increased cutting intervals (p 0.05) and heights (p 0.01) enhanced significantly dry matter production. There were no significant interactions between cutting interval and height within each kenaf cultivar on dry matter production. Plant mortality decreased with increased cutting height. The best cutting interval for good quality forage was between 5 weeks and 6 weeks for optimal gain in dry matter yield. Under the conditions of the experiment, a cutting height of 50 cm and above was optimum for plant persistence, dry matter yield and total digestible nutrient concentration.