Track 1-10: Assessment and Impact of Grass and Forage Quality
Description
Native grasses grown as forest understory are important forage resources for grazing ruminants and in agroforestry. Dwarf bamboo is one such typical grass and has traditionally been used in Japan. The name “dwarf bamboo” refers to a group of native grasses from certain genera (e.g., Sasa spp. and Pleioblastus spp.). These grasses are generally rhizomatous, perennial, and semi-woody (Usui, 1961). The results of an earlier study suggested that the in sacco ruminal degradation of the dwarf bamboo was inferior to that of a common tropical grass (Yayota et al. 2009), and cattle grazing on a forest pasture dominated by a dwarf bamboo could not satisfy their energy requirement in fall regardless of forage availability (Nakano et al. 2007). However, little information is available about the fermentation kinetics of dwarf bamboo or of many other native forage plants in the rumen. Understanding fermentation kinetics will be useful to improve the utilization of this grass and to plan supple-mental feeding strategies.
The objective of this study was to clarify the fermentation kinetics of a dwarf bamboo (Pleioblastus argenteostriatus f. glaber) in the rumen relative to the fermentation kinetics of a common grass.
Citation
Yayota, Masato; Tanaka, Noriya; Doi, Kazuya; and Ohtani, Shigeru, "A Comparison of Fermentation Kinetics in the Rumen of Grazing Sheep on a Dwarf Bamboo Pasture and a Grass Pasture" (2020). IGC Proceedings (1993-2023). 27.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/22/1-10/27
Included in
A Comparison of Fermentation Kinetics in the Rumen of Grazing Sheep on a Dwarf Bamboo Pasture and a Grass Pasture
Native grasses grown as forest understory are important forage resources for grazing ruminants and in agroforestry. Dwarf bamboo is one such typical grass and has traditionally been used in Japan. The name “dwarf bamboo” refers to a group of native grasses from certain genera (e.g., Sasa spp. and Pleioblastus spp.). These grasses are generally rhizomatous, perennial, and semi-woody (Usui, 1961). The results of an earlier study suggested that the in sacco ruminal degradation of the dwarf bamboo was inferior to that of a common tropical grass (Yayota et al. 2009), and cattle grazing on a forest pasture dominated by a dwarf bamboo could not satisfy their energy requirement in fall regardless of forage availability (Nakano et al. 2007). However, little information is available about the fermentation kinetics of dwarf bamboo or of many other native forage plants in the rumen. Understanding fermentation kinetics will be useful to improve the utilization of this grass and to plan supple-mental feeding strategies.
The objective of this study was to clarify the fermentation kinetics of a dwarf bamboo (Pleioblastus argenteostriatus f. glaber) in the rumen relative to the fermentation kinetics of a common grass.
