MINERAL COMPOSITION OF FORAGE CROPS IN RESPECT TO DAIRY COW NUTRITION.

In order to evaluate the mineral composition of forage crops in respect to dairy cow nutrition 40 soil and corresponding plant (alfalfa, grasses and silage corn) samples were collected from 15 locations in Serbia and analyzed for the concentration of macro- (P, K, and Ca) and microelements (Mn, Cu, Zn, Fe, Co, Se, and Mo). On average, the soils were well provided with the studied elements from the aspect of plant nutrition, but the analyzed fodder crops could not secure sufficient amounts of Cu, Zn, Se, and Ca for dairy cow nutrition. Principal components analysis was applied in order to determine the connection between the concentrations of macro- and microelements in forage crops and their grouping into components responsible for most of the variability in mineral content. The mineral composition of alfalfa was defined by three components (Se, Zn, and Cu) which accounted for the largest part of the established variability. The variability of mineral composition of grasses was defined by four components (Zn, K, Se, and P) and that of silage corn by the concentrations of Fe, Mn, and K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]