Some aspects of the utilization of tropical forages. I. Green elephant grass at various stages of growth

Abstract

1. Cuts of elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum were made at 40–60 (trial 1), 30 (trial 2), 50 (trial 3) and 70 (trial 4) days of age. Determinations of voluntary intake, digestibility coefficients, rate of passage through the gut, time spent eating and ruminating, number of boluses, rate of chewing, production of volatile fatty acids (both total and individual) were determined using individually housed sheep.2. Digestibility coefficients of crude protein declined with the level of crude protein in the forage; digestion of the crude fibre fraction declined with advancing maturity. The digestibility of N.F.E. increased with increasing maturity resulting in similar values for T.D.N. among the four cuts. Digestibility of dry matter of the grass in trial 2 was significantly higher than that for the other three trials.