Publication Date
1993
Description
Daily gains of cattle grazing Mott elephantgrass (MB; Pennisteum purpureIum Schum.) arc approximately twice those obtained on other warm-season perennial grasses grown in Florida, USA, but plant characteristics responsible for the high forage quality of MB have not been identified. Three experiments were conducted during 1987- 1991 to determine factors that explain the high forage quality of MB and to assess the quality potential of P. purpureum x P. glaucum (L.) [R.Br.J x clephantgrass hybrids. Higher organic matter (OM) digestibility and intake of MB than Pensacola bahiagrass (PB; Paspalum nonatum Flugge) were associated with a lesser percentage of sclercnchyma (1.6 v. 5.4%) and a greater percentage of epidermis (32.8 v. 25.9%) in the leaf cross-sectional area of MB than PB. Leaf lamina percentage, crude protein (CP), and in vitro OM digestibility (IVOMD) of MB herbage were 65, 8,7 and 66% when harvested every 12 weeks to a 10-cm stubble, and percentages increased with more frequent cutting and taller stubble heights. Three Pennistum hybrids had lower leaf/stem ratio than MB but IVOMD and chemical composition of the hybrids and MB varied little. We conclude that 1) high forage quality of ME is due to a high leaf/stem ratio and to the proportion and distribution of tissues in the leaf lamina, and 2) nutritive value of Pennisetum hybrids is comparable to that of ME.
Citation
Sollenberger, L E.; Moore, J E.; Flores-C, J A.; Chaparro, C J.; and Macoon, B, "Forage Quality Determinants of Mott Elephantgrass and Pennisetum Hybrids" (2024). IGC Proceedings (1993-2023). 22.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1993/session9/22
Included in
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Forage Quality Determinants of Mott Elephantgrass and Pennisetum Hybrids
Daily gains of cattle grazing Mott elephantgrass (MB; Pennisteum purpureIum Schum.) arc approximately twice those obtained on other warm-season perennial grasses grown in Florida, USA, but plant characteristics responsible for the high forage quality of MB have not been identified. Three experiments were conducted during 1987- 1991 to determine factors that explain the high forage quality of MB and to assess the quality potential of P. purpureum x P. glaucum (L.) [R.Br.J x clephantgrass hybrids. Higher organic matter (OM) digestibility and intake of MB than Pensacola bahiagrass (PB; Paspalum nonatum Flugge) were associated with a lesser percentage of sclercnchyma (1.6 v. 5.4%) and a greater percentage of epidermis (32.8 v. 25.9%) in the leaf cross-sectional area of MB than PB. Leaf lamina percentage, crude protein (CP), and in vitro OM digestibility (IVOMD) of MB herbage were 65, 8,7 and 66% when harvested every 12 weeks to a 10-cm stubble, and percentages increased with more frequent cutting and taller stubble heights. Three Pennistum hybrids had lower leaf/stem ratio than MB but IVOMD and chemical composition of the hybrids and MB varied little. We conclude that 1) high forage quality of ME is due to a high leaf/stem ratio and to the proportion and distribution of tissues in the leaf lamina, and 2) nutritive value of Pennisetum hybrids is comparable to that of ME.
