In the rain‐fed mixed‐farming systems of southern Australia, the consistent supply of high‐value forage is limited by a range of climatic, edaphic and systems constraints. Over 2 years, we compared biomass production and nutritional value of 30 accessions of perennial legumes, and predicted intake, grazing days and growth of ewes and lambs. There was significant variation in nutritional value and biomass production between and within species. Lucerne (Medicago sativa) and sulla (Hedysarum coronarium) produced the greatest amount of biomass and energy. There was variability among accessions in digestibility (DMD), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and crude protein, and the rate of change in these traits as plants matured. Trifolium species had the highest DMD across all growth stages. Hairy canary clover (Dorycnium hirsutum), erect canary clover (Dorycnium rectum), greater birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus uliginosus), Australian trefoil (Lotus australis) and running postman (Kennedia prostrata) had energy levels that would not maintain liveweight of mature sheep. In the second year, species differed in response to harvesting treatments. Lucerne and sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) were more productive under a frequent cutting regime. Accessions of white clover (Trifolium repens), red clover (Trifolium pratense), alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum), cullen (Cullen australasicum), strawberry clover (Trifolium fragiferum), sainfoin and birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) showed some promise, while Tedera (Bituminaria bituminosa) and milkvetch (Astragalus cicer) performed poorly under the experimental conditions. We conclude by discussing additional agronomic and nutritional factors that need consideration when developing novel perennial legumes for mixed‐farming systems in the context of a changing climate.

中文翻译：

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在澳大利亚南部低雨量地中海型环境中20种多年生豆类的生产力和营养价值

在澳大利亚南部的雨养混合耕作系统中，持续的高价值草料供应受到一系列气候，土壤和系统限制。在2年的时间里，我们比较了30种多年生豆科植物的生物量生产和营养价值，并预测了母羊和羔羊的摄入量，放牧天数和生长情况。物种之间和物种内部的营养价值和生物量生产存在显着差异。卢塞恩（苜蓿）和苏拉（Hedysarum coronarium）产生了大量的生物量和能量。消化率（DMD），酸性去污剂纤维（ADF）和粗蛋白的种质之间存在差异，随着植物的成熟，这些性状的变化率也不同。三叶草在所有生长期，该物种的DMD最高。毛状的金丝三叶草（Dorycnium hirsutum），直立的金丝雀三叶草（Dorycnium rectum），较大的鸟足三叶形（Lotus uliginosus），澳大利亚三叶形（Lotus australis）和奔跑的邮递员（Kennedia prostrata）的能量水平无法维持成熟绵羊的体重。在第二年，物种对收获处理的反应有所不同。在频繁采伐的情况下，卢塞恩和皂甙（Onobrychis viciifolia）的生产力更高。白三叶草（Trifolium repens），红三叶草（Trifolium pratense），白花三叶草（Trifolium hybridum）），花粉（Cullen australasicum），草莓三叶草（Trifolium fragiferum），皂角苷和鸟足三叶草（Lotus corniculatus）表现出一定的前景，而泰德拉（Beduminaria bituminosa）和白bit（Astragalus cicer）在实验条件下表现不佳。最后，我们讨论了在气候变化的背景下为混合农业系统开发新型多年生豆科植物时需要考虑的其他农业和营养因素。