Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T15:25:03.669Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Estimation of intake and apparent digestibility of kleingrass from in situ parameters measured in sheep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

C. M. Ferri
Affiliation:
Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad Nacional de La Pampa, C.C. 300, 6300, Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina
V. V. Jouve
Affiliation:
Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad Nacional de La Pampa, C.C. 300, 6300, Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina
N. P. Stritzler
Affiliation:
Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad Nacional de La Pampa, C.C. 300, 6300, Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina E.E.A. Guillermo Covas, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, C.C. 11, 6326, Anguil, La Pampa, Argentina
H. J. Petruzzi
Affiliation:
Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad Nacional de La Pampa, C.C. 300, 6300, Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina E.E.A. Guillermo Covas, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, C.C. 11, 6326, Anguil, La Pampa, Argentina
Get access

Abstract

The voluntary intake and apparent digestibility of kleingrass (Panicum coloratum cv. Verde) were measured in seven periods, comprising one full year. The forage was offered twice a day ad libitum to seven rams, fitted with faeces collection bags; each experimental period was composed of 8 days for adaptation and 8 days for collection of data. The dry-matter (DM) intake (DMI) varied from 36·1 to 64·9 glkg M075, the digestible dry-matter intake (DDMI), from 17·4 to 41·9 glkg M0·75 and the in vivo dry matter apparent digestibility (DMD), from 0·471 to 0·667.

Daily samples of offered forage were taken and pooled subsamples from each of the seven periods were incubated in nylon bags in the rumen of three Hereford steers. The data were fitted to the exponential equation: p = a + b (1-e-ct) to estimate p (the proportionate loss of DM at time t of incubation); effective degradability (ED) and lag time (L) were also estimated.

The parameters obtained in situ were related to the in vivo results by simple and multiple regression. The correlation coefficients of the rate of degradation (c) and ED with DMI, DDMI and DMD were, respectively, 096 and 0·97; 0·97 and 0·96; 0·86 and 0·88. By including a, b, c and L into a multiple regression analysis, the coefficients of determination (R2) were: DMI: 0·99; DDMI: 0·99 and DMD: 0·91. Within the conditions of this study, the parameters obtained in situ were reasonable estimators of voluntary intake and apparent digestibility.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allen, M. S. 1996. Physical constraints on voluntary intake of forages by ruminants. Journal of Animal Science. 74: 30633075.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Allen, M. S. and Mertens, D. R. 1988. Evaluating constraints on fiber digestion by rumen microbes. Journal of Nutrition. 118: 261270.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bansal, S. K., John, C. B. and Rai, G. S. 1986. Panicum coloratum h., a promising fodder for stallfed goats. Indian Journal of Animal Science. 56: 11111112.Google Scholar
Cairo, M. D., Lopez, S., Gonzalez, J. S. and Ovejero, F. J. 1991. The use of the rumen degradation characteristics of hay as predictors of its voluntary intake by sheep. Animal Production. 52: 133139.Google Scholar
Chermiti, A., Nefzaoui, A., Teller, E., Vanbelle, M., Ferchichi, H. and Rokbani, N. 1996. Prediction of the voluntary intake of low quality roughages by sheep from chemical composition and ruminal degradation characteristics. Animal Science. 62: 5762.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forbes, J. M. 1986. The voluntary food intake of farm animals. Butterworths, London.Google Scholar
Hovell, F. D. DeB., Ngambi, J. W. W., Barber, W. P. and Kyle, D. J. 1986. The voluntary intake of hay by sheep in relation to its degradability in the rumen as measured in nylon bags. Animal Production. 42: 111118.Google Scholar
Kibon, A. and Ørskov, E. R. 1993. The use of degradation characteristics of browse plants to predict intake and digestibility by goats. Animal Production. 57: 247251.Google Scholar
Lindberg, J. E. 1985. Estimation of rumen degradability of feed proteins with the in sacco technique and various in vitro methods: a review. Ada Agricultural Scandinavica, Supplementum. 25: 6497.Google Scholar
Lippke, H. 1980. Forage characteristics related to intake, digestibility and gain by ruminants. Journal of Animal Science. 50: 952961.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDonald, I. 1981. A revised model for the estimation of protein degradability in the rumen. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge. 96: 251252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mertens, D. R. 1994. Regulation of forage intake. In Forage quality, evaluation and utilization (ed. Fahey, G. C.), pp. 493. ASA, CSSA, and SSSA, Wisconsin, USA.Google Scholar
Michalet-Doreau, B. and Ould-Bah, M. Y. 1992. In vivo and in sacco methods for the estimation of dietary nitrogen degradability in the rumen. A review. Animal Feed Science and Technology. 40: 5786.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minson, D. J. and Haydock, K. P. 1971. The value of pepsin dry matter solubility for estimating the voluntary intake and digestibility of six Panicum varieties. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture and Animal Husbandry. 11: 181185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minson, D. J. and Wilson, J. R. 1994. Prediction of intake as an element of forage quality. In Forage quality, evaluation utilization (ed. Fahey, G. C.), pp. 533563. ASA, CSSA, and SSSA, Wisconsin, USA.Google Scholar
Nandra, K. S., Hendry, A. and Dobos, R. C. 1993. A study of voluntary intake and digestibility of roughages in relation to their degradation characteristics and retention time in the rumen. Animal Feed Science and Technology 227–237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nandra, K. S., Oddy, V. H., Ayres, J. F., Nicholls, P. J., Langevad, B. and Ly, W. 1995. The use of cell wall organic matter components and in vitro degradability characteristics to predict intake and digestibility of white clover for sheep. Australian Journal of Agricultural 46: 11111120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nordisk Kontaktorgan for Jordbrugsforskning. 1985. Introduction to the Nordic protein evaluation system for ruminants into practice and further research requirements. Acta Agriculturx Scandinavica Supplementum 25: 216220.Google Scholar
Ørskov, E. R. 1991. Manipulation of fibre digestion in the rumen. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 50: 187196.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ørskov, E. R. and McDonald, I. 1979. The estimation of protein degradability in the rumen from incubation measurement weighted according to rate of passage. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge. 92: 499503.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ørskov, E. R., Reid, G. W. and Kay, M. 1988. Prediction of intake by cattle from degradation characteristics of roughages. Animal Production. 46: 2934.Google Scholar
Ørskov, E. R. and Ryle, M. 1990. Energy nutrition in ruminants. Elsevier Applied Science, London.Google Scholar
Schneider, B. H. and Flatt, W. P. 1975. The evaluation of feeds through digestibility experiments. The University of Georgia Press, USA.Google Scholar
Sokal, R. R. and Rohlf, F. J. 1995. Biometry. The principles and practice of statistics in biological research, third edition. Freeman and Co., New York.Google Scholar
Stritzler, N. P., Pagella, J. H., Jouve, V. V. and Ferri, C. M. 1996. Semi-arid warm-season grass yield and nutritive value in Argentina. Journal of Range Management. 49: 121125CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Soest, P. J. 1982. Nutritional ecology of the ruminant. O. and B. Books, Corvallis, Oregon.Google Scholar
Vera, R. R., Irazoqui, H. and Menvielle, E. E. 1973. The nutritive value of weeping lovegrass during the growing season. 1. Digestibility and yield of digestible nutrients. Journal of the British Grassland Society 28: 149152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young, B. A. 1993. Optimising seed production in Kleingrass, Panicum coloratum L. Journal of Applied Seed Production. 11: 1319.Google Scholar