Forage Nonstructural Carbohydrates and Nutritive Value as Affected by Time of Cutting and Species

Pelletier, Sophie; Tremblay, Gaëtan F.; Bélanger, Gilles; Bertrand, Annick; Castonguay, Yves; Pageau, Denis; Drapeau, R.

doi:10.2134/agronj2010.0158

Cited by 74 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…In living biomass of T. repens, starch concentration was also measured to consider the conversion of excessive WSC into starch in legumes (Pelletier et al 2010). For this purpose, plant samples were harvested in the morning around 8 am to catch remaining WSC not consumed overnight (Schnyder et al 1988) and to reduce differences resulting from environment-dependent production during the day (Shewmaker et al 2006) (see supplementary material, Appendix 1 for detailed information on harvesting and sample processing).…”

Section: Carbohydrates and Plant Nitratementioning

confidence: 99%

Severe water deficit restricts biomass production of Lolium perenne L. and Trifolium repens L. and causes foliar nitrogen but not carbohydrate limitation

et al. 2017

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Aims We investigated whether drought-induced impairment of grassland species can be explained directly by plant water deficit or by water-driven limitation of nitrogen (N) and/or carbohydrate sources. Methods In a field experiment, a severe drought treatment was applied on monocultures of Lolium perenne L. (cv. Alligator) (Lp) and Trifolium repens L. (cv. Hebe) (Tr) by using rainout shelters excluding all precipitation, and effects were compared to a rainfed control. Three species-fertiliser treatments were set up, crossed with the drought treatment. The two species were fertilised equally with N (200 kg N ha), and an additional high N fertilisation treatment was established for L. perenne (Lp highN , 500 kg N ha). Results Severe soil water deficit led to significantly lower leaf water potentials in all species-fertiliser treatments (P < 0.001) down to approximately −1.2 MPa and, on average, to a 79% reduction in living plant biomass above 7 cm harvest height (P < 0.001), indicating strong plant water deficits. Under the drought treatment, living plant biomass above 7 cm did not differ among species-fertiliser treatments. Plant-available soil N was 84% lower (P ≤ 0.01) and plant N concentrations were 24% less (P < 0.001) under the drought than under the rainfed control treatment, with Lp always being more N limited than Lp highN and Tr. Nitrate concentrations in water-limited plants were generally very low (< 0.85 mg g −1 dry matter), whereas non-structural carbohydrates were distinctly greater under the drought treatment in Lp (+62%), Lp highN (+46%), and Tr (+18%).Conclusions Restricted biomass production of these forage species under severe drought can primarily be explained by plant water deficits and secondarily by drought-induced limitation of N supply. However, growth seems not to be limited by carbohydrate source activity, as carbohydrates accumulated with water deficiency.

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Section: Carbohydrates and Plant Nitratementioning

confidence: 99%

Severe water deficit restricts biomass production of Lolium perenne L. and Trifolium repens L. and causes foliar nitrogen but not carbohydrate limitation

et al. 2017

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“…selective grazing of birdsfoot trefoil and alfalfa might explain the lack of legume persistence under grazing at Nappan. This difference in the proportion of the legume species might explain in part the lower concentrations of ADF and aNDF and the greater N concentration in forages at Lévis and Normandin than at Nappan because of the known lower ADF and aNDF concentrations of legume species and their greater N concentration compared with grass species (Pelletier et al 2010). Along with their differences in species composition, lower forage DM yields at Lévis and Normandin could explain the greater forage TDN concentration and IVTD at those two sites because of the known negative relationship between forage DM yield and digestibility (Bélanger et al 2001).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Yield and nutritive value of binary legume-grass mixtures under grazing or frequent cutting

et al. 2017

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Although most forage production in eastern Canada is comprised of species mixtures, little research has identified the best species to include in forage mixtures. Our objective was to identify binary legume-grass mixtures with high forage yield and nutritive value under either simulated grazing with frequent cutting or cattle grazing. The experiment was conducted at three sites in eastern Canada with 18 binary legume-grass mixtures of one of six grass species {Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.), meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.), orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.), tall fescue [Schedonorus phoenix (Scob.) Holub], timothy (Phleum pratense L.), and meadow bromegrass (Bromus biebersteinii Roem. & Schult.)} seeded in 2010 with a grazing-type alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), white clover (Trifolium repens L.), or birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.). The six grass species grown in mixture with alfalfa, birdsfoot trefoil, or white clover persisted well under frequent cutting or rotational grazing at the three sites. White clover grown in a binary mixture with a grass species did not perform well under frequent cutting or rotational grazing. Meadow bromegrass based binary mixtures were overall the best performing in terms of dry matter yield; although their nutritive value was average, meadow bromegrass combined with alfalfa or birdsfoot trefoil were among the best legume-grass mixtures for estimated milk production per hectare. The greatest estimated milk production per hectare was obtained with birdsfoot trefoil mixed with meadow bromegrass followed by the alfalfa-timothy and the alfalfa-meadow bromegrass mixtures.Key words: alfalfa, clover, forage, grass, grazing.Résumé : Bien que la majeure partie des fourrages récoltés dans l'est du Canada viennent d'un mélange d'espèces, on a relativement peu effectué de recherches pour déterminer quelles espèces constitueraient le meilleur mélange. Les auteurs voulaient établir les mélanges binaires légumineuse-graminée dont le rendement fourrager est le plus élevé et qui ont la plus grande valeur nutritive en simulant la paissance avec des coupes fréquentes ou sous pâturage avec des animaux. L'expérience, réalisée à trois endroits dans l'est du Canada, portait sur 18 mélanges binaires de légumineuses et de graminées. Les six graminées employées étaient le pâturin des prés (Poa pratensis L.), la fétuque des prés (Festuca pratensis Huds.), le dactyle pelotonné (Dactylis glomerata L), la fétuque élevée [Schedonorus phoenix (Scob.) Holub ], la fléole (Phleum pratense L.) et le brome des prés (Bromus biebersteinii Roem. & Schult.). En 2010, ils ont semé les graminées avec de la luzerne adaptée à la paissance (Medicago sativa L.), du trèfle blanc (Trifolium repens L.) ou du lotier corniculé (Lotus corniculatus L.). Les six graminées cultivées avec la luzerne, le lotier corniculé ou le trèfle blanc ont bien résisté aux coupes fréquentes et aux pâturages tournants, aux trois sites. Mélangé à une graminée, le trèfle blanc n'a pas bien performé avec des coupes fréq...

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“…Modern varieties of cool season grasses are bred to have greater NDF digestibility; tall fescue grass can contain greater than 50% NDF and have an in vitro 48-h NDF digestibility of up to 75% of NDF (Brink et al, 2010;Pelletier et al, 2010). Fiber digestibility of grasses can be influenced by many factors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fiber digestibility of grasses can be influenced by many factors. Agronomic practices, such as harvesting earlier (Hoffman et al, 1993;Rinne et al, 2002) or harvesting from spring growth (Rinne et al, 2002;Cherney et al, 2004;Pelletier et al, 2010), increase NDF digestibility. Although varieties of tall fescue with endophytes have been associated with toxicosis and poor cattle performance (Foote et al, 2013), modern varieties of tall fescue have been bred to be free of endophytes and have been shown to improve milk production compared with their infected counterparts (Strahan et al, 1987).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of partial replacement of corn and alfalfa silage with tall fescue hay on total-tract digestibility and lactation performance in dairy cows

Bender

Lopes

Cook

et al. 2016

Journal of Dairy Science

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Our objective was to evaluate the effects of replacing either corn or alfalfa silage with tall fescue hay on total-tract neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility and lactation performance in dairy cows. Twenty-four primiparous (75±35 d in milk) and 40 multiparous (68±19 d in milk) Holstein cows were blocked by parity and randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatment groups in a pen equipped with 32 feeding gates to record intake by cow. Each gate was randomly assigned to 1 treatment group; thus, each cow had access to all 8 gates within the respective treatment and cow was the experimental unit. Treatments were formulated to replace either corn silage (CS) or alfalfa silage (AS) with tall fescue hay (TF) as follows (DM basis): 33% AS and 67% CS (control; 33AS67CS), 60% TF and 40% AS (60TF40AS), 60% TF and 40% CS (60TF40CS), and 33% TF and 67% CS (33TF67CS). The experiment was a 7-wk continuous lactation trial with a 2-wk covariate period. Milk production did not differ among treatments and averaged 40.4 kg/d. Fat yield and concentration and protein yield and concentration did not differ among treatments and averaged 1.58 kg/d, 3.94%, 1.28 kg/d, and 3.15%, respectively. Dry matter intake was greater for 33AS67CS (24.5 kg/d) compared with 60TF40CS (22.1 kg/d) and 33TF67CS (22.7 kg/d), and tended to be greater than 60TF40AS (23.2 kg/d). In vivo total-tract dry matter digestibility did not differ among treatments and averaged 66.2%. In vivo total-tract NDF digestibility was lower for 33AS67CS (37.8%) compared with 60TF40AS (44.4%) and 33TF67CS (45.3%), and similar to 60TF40CS (42.4%). In vivo total-tract NDF digestibility and an estimate of in situ total-tract NDF digestibility were similar between techniques across all treatment diets (42.3 vs. 42.6%, respectively). Inclusion of tall fescue grass hay increased the total-tract NDF digestibility of the diet and has the potential to replace corn silage and alfalfa silage and maintain milk production if economically feasible based on current market prices.

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Forage Nonstructural Carbohydrates and Nutritive Value as Affected by Time of Cutting and Species

Cited by 74 publications

References 32 publications

Severe water deficit restricts biomass production of Lolium perenne L. and Trifolium repens L. and causes foliar nitrogen but not carbohydrate limitation

Severe water deficit restricts biomass production of Lolium perenne L. and Trifolium repens L. and causes foliar nitrogen but not carbohydrate limitation

Yield and nutritive value of binary legume-grass mixtures under grazing or frequent cutting

Effects of partial replacement of corn and alfalfa silage with tall fescue hay on total-tract digestibility and lactation performance in dairy cows

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