Agronomic and Nutritional Potential of Ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) Accessions as Raw Material for Silage in the Tropical Andes of Peru

In the tropical Andes, rangeland degradation has become one of the main threats to the sustainability of livestock production in the face of climate change. In this context, optimizing the yield and nutritional quality of raw material for silage is essential to sustain livestock productivity. The aim of this study was to identify local accessions (LM) of Lolium multiflorum Lam. with greater forage potential through evaluations in consecutive cuts made at the anthesis phenological stage, using a randomized complete block design with four replicates and ten local accessions (LM1, LM2, LM3, LM4, LM6, LM7, LM8, LM11, LM12 and LM13). The statistical analysis, based on linear mixed models, showed that cuts at anthesis had a significant effect among accessions, revealing high variability in agronomic and nutritional performance across cuts. In LM4, plant height at the fourth cut was 2.48-fold higher than at the first cut. Likewise, LM4 and LM13 were identified as the latest accessions to reach anthesis in the first cut, with a decreasing trend across cuts and stabilization from the third cut onward. These accessions also showed the greatest basal coverage area, increasing 9.94- and 8.18-fold in the fourth cut relative to the first. Fresh forage yields in LM4 and LM13 increased 13.2- and 10.1-fold, and dry matter yields 13.98- and 9.86-fold, compared with the first cut. They also exhibited the highest average daily dry matter ac-cumulation rate. By contrast, the fresh forage and dry matter yields of the remaining accessions were significantly lower than those of LM4 and LM13. The main difference between these two accessions was observed in dry matter percentage, with higher values and a stable trend in LM4 across all cuts. In terms of nutritional quality, LM4 presented crude protein of 24.2% in the second cut and 24.0% in the fourth cut, while digestibility was 86.2% in the second cut and 85.0% in the fourth cut. In conclusion, although the ensiling process was not evaluated in this study, LM4 showed the most stable and outstanding values in both agronomic and nutritional performance, thus emerging as a promising accession for selection and use as raw material for silage production in the tropical Andes.