Effects of Chemical and Organic Fertilizers on Some Silage Chemical Properties of Globe Artichoke (Cynara scolymus)

To study the effect of three soil fertilizing systems (organic، integrated and chemical) on silage quality of globe artichoke (Cynara scolymus)، an experiment was conducted using a Randomized Completed Block Design (RCBD) with four replications at the Research Farm of Agriculture College، University of Tehran، Karaj، Iran in 2007. The treatments included five levels of chemical fertilizers، four levels of manure، five levels of mixture of different ratios of chemical fertilizers and manure as integrated systems and a control treatment (no fertilizers or manures). The results have shown that soil fertilizing systems significantly affected silage quality of artichoke. The highest crude protein percent (12/7%) and lowest crude protein (8. 2%) were obtained by treatment 15 (40 tones manure/ha) and control respectively. Water Soluble Carbohydrates (WSC) decreased during the silage process. Silage quality characteristics including crude protein (CP)، water soluble carbohydrates (WSC)، and dry matter digestibility (DMD) increased and acid detergent fiber (ADF) decreased by increment of cattle manure application. It was concluded that artichoke، as a forage crop، has a suitable yield and quality potential for livestock feeding in terms of soil fertilization systems. Artichoke silage quality was less than alfalfa silage but it is as much as corn silage with lower seed contents and was more than sorghum silage. Further studies would be needed to consider Artichoke as a source of forage and medicinal crop plant.