This article was originally posted on Field Crop News. Written by Joel Bagg. Can nutrient quality and sugar content of hay be improved by cutting in the afternoon rather than in the morning? This is sometimes suggested, but seems to contradict the idea of cutting in the morning to make haylage-in-a-day. There has been a great deal of conflicting information about AM/PM cutting in the farm media that has created some controversy. The Case For Afternoon Cutting – Photosynthesis During the day, forage plants convert sunlight into sugars by photosynthesis. Sugars and starch are produced faster than they can be translocated to root and crown reserves, so at the end of a sunny day, the plant sugar content is at its maximum. During…
