Prediction of forage digestibility from some laboratory procedures.

Abstract

Digestibility of 106 samples of hay, grass, grass silage and legume forage was estimated by regression from cell contents and cell wall constituents estimated chemically. Cell wall constituents were cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin, cutin, plant silica and soil contamination. Values were not as closely related to digestibility in vivo by sheep as were values obtained by digestion with rumen fluid in vitro. Correlation between digestibility of cell wall constituents and lignin content was poor, and this and other reasons for the poor results from chemical analysis are discussed.-T. D. B. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)