Nutritive value of orchard grass for cattle and sheep
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Date
1980
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
West Virginia University
Abstract
A study was undertaken to examine seasonal and growth stage
effects on intake and digestibility of orchardgrass by grazing
cows and to determine effects of fertilization of orchardgrass with
kieserite on its nutritive quality and on its mineral composition
and utilization.
A series of grazing and digestibility trials on orchardgrass
were carried out in 1977 and 1978 using sheep and beef cows.
In
March, 1978, replicated orchardgrass pastures were treated with
and without kieserite at the rate of 2240 kg/ha (equivalent to 390
kg Mg/ha).
Chromic oxide was used as an external indicator to
estimate the fecal output and regression techniques relating fecal
N and DMD(Z) were used to estimate the nutritional value of
orchardgrass.
In grazing trials run in 1977, it was found that intake of
first growth vegetative herbage was higher than intake of the
pasture at later growth stages.
However, in grazing trials run in
1978, intake of first growth vegetative herbage was not different
from intake of herbage grazed in October.
Dry matter digestibility
(Z) was higher in the early first growth herbage than at other
growth stages.
The grazing cows on the whole had higher mean DMD(Z)
coefficients than the indoor animals.
Magnesium fertilizer had no effect (P>0.05) on DMD(Z) and
intake of either cut or grazed herbage. ^fertilization significantly
increased the concentration of sulfur in herbage, with no effect166
on the concentrations of other minerals.
Magnesium fertilization
caused a consistent but non-significant (P>0.05) inrrwmp in serum
magnesium in grazing beef cows in the two week period after
turning the cows out to pasture.
Magnesium availability, as
measured with wether sheep during the same period, was high and,
unexpectedly, fertilization resulted in a depression in apparent
absorption of magnesium, calcium and phosphorus.
In conclusion, there were significant effects of growth stage
and season on
the nutritional quality of orchardgrass.
Fertiliza
tion with kieserite showed no differences in the .nutritional
quality of orchardgrass.
Description
Keywords
Cattle, Grazing beef cows, Sheep, Orchard grass