DRYING AND PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MATTED RYEGRASS

Fresh ryegrass and lucerne were macerated and compressed into thin mat s over a 4-week period at two yield levels. The mats were left to dry outside during the day, and inside overnight, and compared with uncond itioned crops. Under a low swath yield of 4 t DM ha-1, mats required 0 .7-1.4 mm pan evaporation to reach 70% moisture, suitable for wilted s ilage, compared with 1.8-3.8 mm pan evaporation for unconditioned crop s. On an average non-rainy day, mats were ready to harvest as wilted s ilage after 2-5 h, whereas the unconditioned crop required between 6 h and 36 h of wilting. With a high swath yield of 8 tDM ha-1, mats requ ired 1.4-3.0 mm pan evaporation to reach 70% moisture compared with 2. 4-5.1 mm for unconditioned windrows. Low-yield mats reached 20% moistu re, suitable for hay, in 2 d of drying, after 4.5-5.3 mm of pan evapor ation. The thickness and cohesion of the mats were measured to assess their sensitivity to mechanical handling. The effect of controlled rai nfall on mats was also investigated. Since mat making was most effecti ve in low-yield crops, it could become a useful complement to low-inpu t, extensive forage production. Mat making could eliminate most silage effluent losses; it could reintroduce haymaking of ryegrass as a viab le system under certain circumstances.