Session 8: Improved Grassland Machanization and Cropping Systems Including a Section Dealing with Improved Research Techniques for Laboratory and Field Evaluation of Forages
Publication Date
1985
Location
Kyoto Japan
Description
A large programme of work has been undertaken by the Nutrition Chemistry Feed Evaluation Unit between 1980 and 1984 to examine temporary grasses and permanent pasture from sites covering England and Wales. The aims of the work reported here have been to provide new digestibility and energy metabolism data and to compare it with that which would have been predicted by the equations in current use in the UK based on modified acid detergent fibre. A total of 131 samples of temporary grass and 40 samples of permanent pasture have been examined in metabolism trials with wether sheep. All trials used primary growth material and were performed at the maintenance plane of nutrition, with daily diets consisting of approximately 3 kg of fresh herbage and 250 g of basal hay. The results from a large volume of data have been selected to illustrate differences between sites and with time within sites. Data from 131 samples of short term leys sampled over 3 years showed mean in vivo digestible organic matter (as % dry matter, DOMD) and metabolisable energy (ME) values of 70. 5% and 11.1 MJ/kg dry matter respectively. Overall decline in nutritive value with time was not consistent and differences were noted between years. The results suggest that the method currently used to predict nutritive value tends to underestimate the true value and that a close relationship between DOMD and ME does not always exist.
Citation
Givens, D I.; Adamson, A H.; and Barber, W P., "The Evaluation of Fresh Herbage in the UK" (1985). IGC Proceedings (1985-2023). 1.
(URL: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1985/ses8/1)
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
The Evaluation of Fresh Herbage in the UK
Kyoto Japan
A large programme of work has been undertaken by the Nutrition Chemistry Feed Evaluation Unit between 1980 and 1984 to examine temporary grasses and permanent pasture from sites covering England and Wales. The aims of the work reported here have been to provide new digestibility and energy metabolism data and to compare it with that which would have been predicted by the equations in current use in the UK based on modified acid detergent fibre. A total of 131 samples of temporary grass and 40 samples of permanent pasture have been examined in metabolism trials with wether sheep. All trials used primary growth material and were performed at the maintenance plane of nutrition, with daily diets consisting of approximately 3 kg of fresh herbage and 250 g of basal hay. The results from a large volume of data have been selected to illustrate differences between sites and with time within sites. Data from 131 samples of short term leys sampled over 3 years showed mean in vivo digestible organic matter (as % dry matter, DOMD) and metabolisable energy (ME) values of 70. 5% and 11.1 MJ/kg dry matter respectively. Overall decline in nutritive value with time was not consistent and differences were noted between years. The results suggest that the method currently used to predict nutritive value tends to underestimate the true value and that a close relationship between DOMD and ME does not always exist.
