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The structural carbohydrates and the in vitro digestibility of a ryegrass and a cocksfoot at two levels of nitrogenous fertilizer

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

R. Waite
R. Waite
Affiliation:
The Hannah Dairy Research Institute, Ayr
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Summary

‘Nitro-chalk” was applied to established swards of ryegrass S. 24 and cocksfoot S. 37 at the rate of 24 and 96 lb N/acre (27 and 107 kg N/ha) before growth commenced and after each cutting. The cuts were taken each time the grass reached a length of 10–11 in (8–9 in of cut herbage). The main effect was that the higher rate of fertilization allowed the grass to be harvested more frequently and this grass had lower pectin, cellulose and hemicellulose contents and a higher level of digestibility. A secondary effect was that the proportion of hemicellulose to cellulose was less in the more heavily fertilized grasses. The cocksfoot grasses at both levels of fertilizer were cut more frequently than the corresponding ryegrasses and were only slightly less digestible. There was some decline in the digestibility of the grasses from May to September which was associated with lengthening growth intervals and generally higher percentages of the structural constituents.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 74 , Issue 3 , June 1970 , pp. 457 - 462
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1970

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References

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