Publication Date
1997
Description
In grazing ewes, plant cuticular wax alkanes were used as markers to estimate diet selection, herbage intake, N intake and N excretion in faeces. Pasture and animal data were then used as inputs to the decision-support system GrazFeed, which simulates grazing and digestion to predict herbage intake, N intake and N excretion. Estimated and predicted intakes agreed closely, especially for N intake, and it is concluded that, subject to further investigation of the possibility that GrazFeed slightly under-estimated faecal N excretion, the close agreement between estimated and predicted OM and N intakes suggests that this combined use of alkane methods and simulation could provide a simple means of estimating the urinary return of N or other nutrients to pasture.
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Using Cuticular Wax Alkanes and Computer Simulation to Estimate Diet Selection, Herbage Intake and Nutrient Cycling in Grazing Sheep
In grazing ewes, plant cuticular wax alkanes were used as markers to estimate diet selection, herbage intake, N intake and N excretion in faeces. Pasture and animal data were then used as inputs to the decision-support system GrazFeed, which simulates grazing and digestion to predict herbage intake, N intake and N excretion. Estimated and predicted intakes agreed closely, especially for N intake, and it is concluded that, subject to further investigation of the possibility that GrazFeed slightly under-estimated faecal N excretion, the close agreement between estimated and predicted OM and N intakes suggests that this combined use of alkane methods and simulation could provide a simple means of estimating the urinary return of N or other nutrients to pasture.
