Introduction

This text provides a survey of main field crops grown in the Czech Republic, and minor crops. From the minor crops the ones have been chosen the importance of which has grown recently, either due to the enlargement of organic farming area or efforts to find alternatives to crops inducing food allergies or the use as substitutes for animal origin feedstuffs. Several crops are mentioned that are not grown in this country, but are significant for human or livestock nutrition.

Grains are divided into the following groups: cereals, legumes, oil crops, roots and tubers and forage crops. For each group, relevant characteristics are given. For each crop, the use, nutrient contents and possible antinutritional substances including their effects on the organism are described, and several data on agrotechnology are given.

The objective of this text in not to provide a detailed survey of all the crops grown, but to give information on those crops that are important for human or livestock nutrition under this country’s conditions

Terms of reference

Crude fiber – is determined as a non-hydrolyzed residue after acid and alkaline hydrolysis of a sample. Crude fiber includes mainly cellulose, part of hemicellulose and lignin (hemicellulose is dissolved in acids, lignin in alkalis). Crude fibred does not define current amount of fibre in a sample. This is a classical method, therefore most data on fibre contents in feedstuffs or foodstuffs represent just crude fibre.

Nitrogen-free extract – its content is determined by calculation consisting in subtracting all the other basic nutrients of a feedstuff or foodstuff (humidity, crude protein, fat, fibre, ash), determined by chemical analyses in g/kg from 1000 g. The above mentioned information implies that nitrogen-free extract is formed mainly by carbohydrates, a small part can be formed by organic acids or other substances, not detected in previous analyses.

GPS silages (Ganzpflanzenschrot) – are made from ensiled whole crushed plants (legumes, cereals) harvested at milk-wax to wax maturity stage. They have relatively high contents of crude protein and energy due to high contents of grains.

Divided harvest – a method of harvesting corn for ensiling. Corn cobs (with or without leaves) are harvested separately from straw.

CCM (Corn Cob Mix) – produced by divided harvesting. Ensiled crushed corn cobs without leaves

LKS (Lieschkolbenschrot) – a product of divided corn harvest; ensiled corn cobs with leaves