Investigations into the chemical composition and nutritive value of certain forage plants at medium altitudes in the tropics III. The digestibility and nutritive value of grass and legume hays and ‘standing hays’

Abstract

1. The results are presented of two series of digestibility trials. The first series consists of six grass hays, cut at different stages of growth, and two legume hays cut at the flowering stage. The second series consists of trials using seven species of grasses at the ‘standing hay’ stage.2. Good-quality grass hays are obtained from grasses at the flowering stage. More mature grasses yield poor- or very poor-quality hays of low-protein content.3. The legume hays were of good quality, being particularly high in digestible protein.4. The grasses at the ‘standing hay’ stage are generally of poor feeding value, Brachiaria brizantha, a drought-resistant species, being the best of the seven studied.5. From these results a tentative conclusion is drawn that, during the dry season, the extensive grazing areas of East Africa are capable of providing, at the most, for the maintenance requirements of ruminants.