INFLUENCE OF WATER-SOLUBLE CARBOHYDRATE AND CRUDE PROTEIN CONTENT ON IN VITRO DIGESTION OF DRY MATTER IN HIGHLY DIGESTIBLE FORAGES

1972 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-156
Author(s):  
D. M. Bowden

Freeze-dried samples from six series of harvests of orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) and two series of grass–legume mixtures were generally highly digestible with high levels of water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC). When WSC content was held constant, the influence of crude protein (CP) content on dry matter digested in vitro was statistically significant in 6 of the 19 cuts of orchardgrass and 1 of the 15 cuts of grass–legume mixtures. When CP was held constant, the influence of WSC content on dry matter digested in vitro was significant in seven cuts of orchardgrass and seven cuts of grass–legume. CP content had a greater effect than WSC content on dry matter digested in vitro in 10 cuts of orchardgrass and six cuts of grass–legume mixtures. Cumulative effect of CP and WSC content on in vitro dry matter digestion varied between cuts. The potential of CP and WSC content alone or together as predictors of digestibility of the highly digestible forages sampled in this study varied between cuts.

2015 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Burns ◽  
P. O’Kiely ◽  
D. Grogan ◽  
S. Watson ◽  
T. J. Gilliland

Abstract This study examined 169 of the newest varieties of three ryegrass species, perennial (Lolium perenne L.), Italian (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) and hybrid (Lolium boucheanum Kunth), from Recommended List trials in Ireland. The traits examined were yield, dry matter concentration, three nutritive value traits (in vitro dry matter digestibility, water-soluble carbohydrate on a dry matter basis and crude protein concentration) and two ensilability traits (buffering capacity and water soluble carbohydrate concentration on an aqueous phase basis). Varietal monocultures of each species underwent a six cut combined simulated grazing and silage management in each of two years following sowing. Perennial ryegrass yielded less than both other species in one-year-old swards, but less than only Italian ryegrass in two-year-old swards, but generally had the higher in vitro dry matter digestibility and crude protein values. Italian ryegrass displayed the most favourable ensilability characteristics of the three species with perennial ryegrass less favourable and hybrid ryegrass intermediate. Overall, despite the high yields and favourable nutritive value and ensilability traits recorded, the general differences between the three ryegrass species studied were in line with industry expectations. These findings justify assessing the nutritive value and ensilability of ryegrass species, in addition to yield, to allow farmers select species that match farming enterprise requirements.


1966 ◽  
Vol 66 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Ellis Davies ◽  
G. ap Griffith ◽  
A. Ellington

The primary growth of eight varieties of three species–white clover (3), red clover (4) and lucerne (1)–was sampled at fortnightly intervals and the percentage dry matter, in vitro digestibility, crude protein, water soluble carbohydrates, P, Ca, K, Na and Mg were determined.Differences between species were nearly always significant and the general order of merit was white clover, red clover and lucerne. The exceptions were for dry-matter percentage where this order was reversed, and red clover had the lowest Na and highest Mg content.


1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (8) ◽  
pp. 821 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. F. Smith ◽  
R. J. Simpson ◽  
R. N. Oram ◽  
K. F. Lowe ◽  
K. B. Kelly ◽  
...  

Summary. Two lines of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), cv. Aurora and breeding line Ba 11351, from the United Kingdom with elevated concentrations of water-soluble carbohydrates in the shoot were compared with the standard cultivars, Ellett, Vedette and Kangaroo Valley, in pure grass swards under irrigation at Kyabram, Victoria, and Gatton, Queensland, and under natural rainfall at Condah, Victoria, during 1995–97. Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy was used to predict the water-soluble carbohydrate, crude protein, in vitro dry matter digestibility, neutral and acid detergent fibre, and Klason lignin concentrations of the perennial ryegrass herbage. Herbage yield and water-soluble carbohydrate differed between cultivars at each site at most harvests, with the high water-soluble carbohydrate lines usually yielding less and having higher water-soluble carbohydrate concentrations than the 3 standard cultivars. However, the high water-soluble carbohydrate lines also had higher water-soluble carbohydrate concentrations at harvests where their yield was equal to the standard cultivars. The other nutritive value traits differed significantly at more than half of the 32 harvests: the high water-soluble carbohydrate lines had higher crude protein and dry matter digestibility, and lower neutral detergent fibre, the neutral detergent fibre containing less acid detergent fibre and lignin than did the standard cultivars. The high water-soluble carbohydrate lines were more susceptible to crown rust during spring and summer than the standard cultivars at Kyabram and Gatton: heavy infections reduced yield, water-soluble carbohydrate, dry matter digestibility and crude protein. Higher water-soluble carbohydrate may depend on only a few genes, as does rust resistance and it seems likely that high yielding, high water-soluble carbohydrate cultivars can be developed by recombination and selection.


1981 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 669-680 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. BUCHANAN-SMITH ◽  
Y. T. YAO

A silage additive containing lactic acid bacteria was tested for its effect upon preservation of corn silage, 35–40% dry matter (DM), in four pairs of upright silos (100-t capacity). The additive did not affect (P > 0.05) final pH, lactic or acetic acid concentration, crude protein or NPN-N and NH4+-N expressed as a percent of total N. Recovery of energy from treated silage was greater than control in the two pairs of silos where this was determined, but recoveries of dry matter and crude protein were not consistently affected. Two silage additives, containing hydrolytic enzymes and an antioxidant with or without lactic acid bacteria, were tested on alfalfa, 20, 30, 36.5 and 47.3% DM, in 250-mL laboratory silos. The experimental design used a4 (DM level) × 4 (added glucose — 0,4,8 and 12%, DM basis) × 3 (additive — control, a hydrolytic enzyme/antioxidant additive (E/AO), and E/AO plus lactic acid bacteria (E/AO +)) factorial arrangement of treatments. Alfalfa was harvested using farm equipment. For 60-day silage, the additives as either a primary factor in the design or in second-order interactions with either silage DM or glucose showed no effect (P > 0.05) upon pH, lactic acid, acetic acid, butyric acid, Fleig score, residual water-soluble carbohydrate and percent of total N as NPN-N or ammonia-N. Poor quality silage resulted from the fermentation of alfalfa at 20 and 30% DM, and although additional glucose resolved this problem the additives did not. Beneficial effects of additional water-soluble carbohydrate in alfalfa silage fermentation are evident in data presented. Thus an additive containing an antioxidant and hydrolytic enzymes was not very effective and numbers of lactic acid bacteria in untreated alfalfa harvested with farm equipment must already be sufficient for adequate fermentation.


1997 ◽  
Vol 129 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. OLIVEIRA ◽  
G. E. ROTTINGHAUS ◽  
J. COLLAR ◽  
P. CASTRO

Fifty-six half-sib families of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne), derived from wild populations in Galicia, were examined for the presence of perennial ryegrass endophytes; 28 were endophyte-infected (E+) and 28 were endophyte-free (E−). All families were established in spaced-plant nurseries and trial plots at two locations in Galicia, in 1992. E+ families had a significantly (P<0·05) higher first cut, spring and total yield than E− families at one location in the third year after planting. At this location, water deficit was about 75% higher than at the other location in all three years of study. Endophyte did not affect crown rust susceptibility or forage quality (crude protein, water-soluble carbohydrate and in vitro digestibility). Ergovaline alkaloid concentration in the 28 E+ families varied from 0 to 0·55 μg/g dry matter (DM) (mean 0·15), with 14 families containing levels of ergovaline >0·1 μg/g DM. Thus endophyte infection may benefit the host in drought-prone areas of Galicia, with an increased chance of E+ plants being favoured by either natural or artificial selection.


1969 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. E. P. Davis ◽  
D. M. Bowden

The yield and nutritive value of whole plant, stalk, leaf, husk, and ear were studied for the corn hybrid Pioneer 383 at 8 weekly intervals following silking in 1966 and 1967. Percentage dry matter (DM) increased with maturity. Stalk percentage DM averaged 17.4% at the glazed stage, compared with 28.9% for the whole plant. Kernel percentage DM was 60% at the glazed stage for both years, with a ± 2% within-plot variation. The whole-plant yield of DM increased with maturity. Stalk, leaf, husk, and ear contributed 35, 14, 7, and 44% to whole-plant yield of DM. Total nitrogen (N) declined with maturity. Ear N averaged 65% of the whole-plant N. Water-soluble carbohydrate content of the whole plant was greatest for the second and third harvest and remained at a high level for all harvests. The yield of in vitro digestible dry matter (IVD DM) was greatest for the ear which contributed 52.8% of the total IVD DM, compared with 29.1, 13.4, and 7.6% for stalk, leaf, and husk. Digestible energy, obtained with wethers, was comparable for most growth stages. Both percentage digestible crude protein (CP) and g/kg DM CP showed a declining trend with maturity. DM intakes were lower than indicated by other studies.


2002 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 587-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. R. F. Lee ◽  
L. J. Harris ◽  
J. M. Moorby ◽  
M. O. Humphreys ◽  
M. K. Theodorou ◽  
...  

AbstractEight Hereford ✕ Friesian steers were used to investigate the effect of feeding Lolium perenne (L) forage containing elevated levels of water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) on rumen metabolism and nitrogen (N) absorption from the small intestine. The steers were offered ad libitum access to one of two varieties with matched heading dates (Ba11353, high WSC, HS; AberElan, intermediate WSC, control) cut at different times of the day to accentuate WSC differentials, zero-grazed for 21 days. This was followed by a 14-day period where the animals were on grass silage to provide a covariate intake. Although the total N concentration was similar for the two grasses, all other measured values were significantly different. The dry matter (DM) concentration of HS was greater than that of the control (202 v. 167 g DM per kg; P 0·01). WSC and in-vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) were 243 and 161 g/kg DM, and 0·61 and 0·56 for HS and control, respectively. In contrast, acid- and neutral-detergent fibre were 251 and 296 g/kg DM and 480 and 563 g/kg DM for HS compared with control, respectively. DM intake was increased (9·3 v. 6·7 kg/day; P 0·001) for HS animals and this contributed significantly towards higher flows of non-ammonia N to the duodenum as well as increased absorption of amino acids from the small intestine. This DM intake response was partly due to the elevation in DM concentration of HS. However fresh weight intake was increased proportionately by ca. 0·15 (P 0·05) in animals on HS compared with control. Rumen ammonia levels were lower (14·0 and 26·4 mg N per l; P 0·001) and concentrations of rumen propionate higher (P 0·01) and acetate lower (P 0·01; increasing the glucogenic: lipogenic volatile fatty acid ratio) in animals on HS compared with control. However, the efficiency of microbial protein synthesis (15·9 and 17·8 g microbial nitrogen per kg organic matter apparently digested) and flow of N to the duodenum per unit N intake (0·84 and 0·93) for HS and control, respectively, were similar across both diets.


2001 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 375-379
Author(s):  
D.A. Kenny ◽  
M.P. Boland ◽  
M.G. Diskin ◽  
J.M. Sreenan

AbstractHigh intakes of crude protein (CP), in particular rumen degradable protein (RDP), have been associated with reduced fertility in cattle. This reduction in fertility has been attributed to putative toxic effects of elevated systemic concentrations of ammonia and, or urea, the by-products of protein metabolism, on gametes and embryos. The objective of the studies reported here was to examine the effect of CP and fermentable carbohydrate intake on various blood metabolites and on fertility, in beef heifers. In the first experiment, 40 heifers were randomly assigned to either low (no urea) or high (240 g urea) RDP, grass silage based diets, supplemented with 1.5 or 3.0 kg dry matter (DM) of either rolled barley (BAR) or molassed sugar beet pulp (MSBP) or no carbohydrate (control). The high RDP diet increased plasma ammonia and urea concentrations. MSBP at 3 kg DM/day was more effective than BAR in reducing ammonia (P<0.05) and urea (P<0.001). In animals fed no urea, MSBP at 3 kg DM/day was also more effective than BAR in reducing systemic ammonia (P<0.001) and urea (P < 0.05). In the second experiment, 83 beef cross-bred heifers were randomly assigned over two replicates to one of 4 treatment groups in a 2 x 2 factorial design. Animals consuming high (85 kg N/ha; HN) or low (0 kg N/ha; LN) nitrogen fertilised pastures were supplemented with either 0 or 3 kg dry matter (DM) MSBP daily as follows: 1) HN only (n=21); 2) HN + 3kg MSBP, (n=22); 3) LN only (n=21); 4) LN + 3kg MSBP (n=19). The HN pastures had higher (P<0.001) CP and lower (P<0.001) water soluble carbohydrate concentrations than LN pastures. Systemic ammonia (P<0.05) and urea (P<0.001) were higher in heifers on the HN pasture. Embryo survival rate was high overall (80%) and was not affected by systemic ammonia or urea concentrations or by supplementation with MSBP. Systemic progesterone, insulin and glucose were not affected by treatment. High CP intake coupled with low fermentable carbohydrate, lead to elevated systemic ammonia and urea concentrations in heifers. However, no adverse effect on fertility was observed.


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