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The effect of supplementary and fertilizer sulphur on voluntary intake, digestibility, retention time in the rumen, and site of digestion of pangola grass in sheep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

M. C. Rees ,
D. J. Minson  and
F. W. Smith
M. C. Rees
Affiliation:
C.S.I.R.O., Division of Tropical Agronomy, Mill Road, St Lucia, Queensland 4067, Australia
D. J. Minson
Affiliation:
C.S.I.R.O., Division of Tropical Agronomy, Mill Road, St Lucia, Queensland 4067, Australia
F. W. Smith
Affiliation:
C.S.I.R.O., Division of Tropical Agronomy, Mill Road, St Lucia, Queensland 4067, Australia
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Summary

Pangola grass grown with and without sulphur fertilizer was cut as a 7-week regrowth to measure voluntary intake and digestibility by sheep. To determine the extent of a simple sulphur deficiency half the sheep on each feed were supplemented with 0·6 gsulphur daily. Retention time of feed in the reticulo-rumen and proportion of feed digested anterior to the duodenum was also determined.

Sulphur fertilizer increased the sulphur content of the pasture from 0·09 to 0·15%, voluntary intake of dry matter from 44·4 to 64·1 g/kg W0·75/day and dry-matter digestibility from 55·2 to 60·2%. Sulphur fertilizer reduced the retention time in the reticulo-rumen by 16% and increased the extent of dry-matter digestion before the duodenum from 13 to 34%.

Feeding a sulphur supplement increased dry-matter digestibility of the low sulphur feed to that found with sulphur fertilized pangola grass but only accounted for 63% of the difference in voluntary intake.

It was concluded that fertilizer sulphur leads to large increases in both voluntary intake and digestibility of sulphur deficient grass and that the improvement in nutritive value may be more than can be achieved by feeding a sulphur supplement.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 82 , Issue 3 , June 1974 , pp. 419 - 422
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1974

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