Publication Date
1985
Location
Kyoto Japan
Description
Two cultivars of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) viz. 'Festal' and 'Kentucky 31', and a Festuca arundinacea x Lolium multiflorum hybrid ( = Festulolium) cultivar 'Hazel' were chosen to test their palatability and intake by sheep when offered simultaneously as fresh grass or hay or silage. Of fresh grass of both the primary growth and the third growth the Festulolium was preferred to tall fescue. When the Festulolium was withdrawn, significantly more forage of 'Festal' than of 'Kentucky 31' was eaten from the primary growth, but the reverse was true with the regrowth forage. Hay of the three cultivars was harvested from the first growth on the same date. The proportion of hay ingested decreased significantly in the following order: (1) 'Hazel', (2) 'Festal', (3) 'Kentucky 31'. When silage of the second growth was offered, the ranking order was (1) 'Kentucky 31', (2) 'Festal', and (3) 'Hazel'. Differential expressions of the measured characters of forage quality viz. heading date, leafiness, dry matter%, in-vitro digestibility of organic matter, crude fiber%, and content of organic acids in the silage only partially explain the observed significant differences between cultivars.
Citation
Simon, U and Prager, V, "Effect of Cultivar and Type of Forage of Tall Fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) on Palatability and Intake by Sheep" (1985). IGC Proceedings (1985-2023). 26.
(URL: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1985/ses10/26)
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Effect of Cultivar and Type of Forage of Tall Fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) on Palatability and Intake by Sheep
Kyoto Japan
Two cultivars of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) viz. 'Festal' and 'Kentucky 31', and a Festuca arundinacea x Lolium multiflorum hybrid ( = Festulolium) cultivar 'Hazel' were chosen to test their palatability and intake by sheep when offered simultaneously as fresh grass or hay or silage. Of fresh grass of both the primary growth and the third growth the Festulolium was preferred to tall fescue. When the Festulolium was withdrawn, significantly more forage of 'Festal' than of 'Kentucky 31' was eaten from the primary growth, but the reverse was true with the regrowth forage. Hay of the three cultivars was harvested from the first growth on the same date. The proportion of hay ingested decreased significantly in the following order: (1) 'Hazel', (2) 'Festal', (3) 'Kentucky 31'. When silage of the second growth was offered, the ranking order was (1) 'Kentucky 31', (2) 'Festal', and (3) 'Hazel'. Differential expressions of the measured characters of forage quality viz. heading date, leafiness, dry matter%, in-vitro digestibility of organic matter, crude fiber%, and content of organic acids in the silage only partially explain the observed significant differences between cultivars.
