Preliminary Observations About Forage Potential of Chia

With a view towards expanding the menu of available summer forages, a study was conducted to characterize forage traits of Chia (Salvia hispanica L.). When grown in Virginia (mid-Atlantic region of the United States) during 2019 and 2020, 60-day old whole vegetative plants of both black-seeded and white-seeded Chia contained approximately 21 percent protein, 1.5 percent potassium, 2.06 percent calcium, 2.4 percent crude fat, 21.2 percent ADF, and 29.4 percent NDF. The fresh and dry biomass yields were 8310 and 814 kg ha-1, respectively. Based on forage quality values of Chia produced in other countries and other forages, it was concluded that Chia is a potential forage crop.