Forage brassicas are currently widely used in temperate–humid livestock systems; however, they offer potential to diversify crop rotation and forage options in the drier, mixed crop–livestock zone of Australia. A literature review highlighted that in these hotter and more arid environments, forage brassicas are more likely to fit as autumn-sown forage crop where they offer an energy-rich, highly digestible feed source that could be used during periods of low production and nutritive value of other forage sources. However, brassicas can also accumulate several anti-nutritional compounds that require gradual introduction to livestock diets, thereby reducing potential health risks and optimising animal performance. Preliminary experimental and commercial evaluations in subtropical Australia found high production of some forage brassica genotypes (>5 t DM/ha with growth rates of 50–60 kg DM/ha.day), comparable or superior to widely used forage cereal or forage legume options. Several forage brassicas showed moderate to high resistance to the root-lesion nematode, Pratylenchus thornei, and hence are likely to provide break-crop benefits compared with susceptible species (e.g. wheat). Together, this evidence suggests that forage brassicas have significant potential for wider use in crop–livestock farming systems in Australia. However, research is needed to identify genotypic adaptation and to match different forage brassica genotypes to production environments or system niches, especially some of the new genotypes that are now available. There is also a need to develop regionally-relevant recommendations of agronomic and grazing management that optimise forage and animal production, and mitigate potential animal health risks.

饲用芸苔属植物目前广泛用于温带潮湿的牲畜系统。然而，它们为在澳大利亚较干燥，混合的农牧区提供了多样化的轮作和饲料选择的潜力。一篇文献评论强调，在这些更热和更干旱的环境中，芸苔属更适合作为秋播的饲草作物，它们提供能量丰富，易消化的饲料来源，可在低产量和营养价值时期使用。其他饲料来源。但是，芸苔还可以积累一些需要逐步引入牲畜饮食的抗营养化合物，从而降低潜在的健康风险并优化动物的生产性能。在亚热带澳大利亚进行的初步实验和商业评估发现，某些草甘蓝基因型产量高（> 5吨DM /公顷，生长速度为50-60千克DM /公顷/天），与广泛使用的饲用谷物或饲用豆科植物相当或更好。几种牧草芸苔对根部线虫表现出中等至高的抗性，Pratylenchus thornei，因此与易感物种（例如小麦）相比，可能会提供断茬作物的收益。综合起来，这些证据表明，饲用芸苔属植物具有广泛的潜力，可广泛用于澳大利亚的农作物-畜牧业耕作系统。但是，需要进行研究以鉴定基因型适应性，并使不同的饲用芸苔基因型与生产环境或系统生态位相匹配，特别是现在可获得的一些新基因型。还需要制定与区域有关的农艺和放牧管理建议，以优化草料和动物生产并减轻潜在的动物健康风险。