Genetic Variation for Forage Quality of Alfalfa Stems

Buxton, D. R.; Marten, G. C.; Hornstein, Joyce

doi:10.4141/cjps87-142

Cited by 38 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Differences in stem digestibility among alfalfa populations (Julier et al 1996), cultivars (Mowat et al 1965;Albrecht et al 1987;Buxton et al 1987;Julier and Huyghe 1997), plant introduction accessions , and phenotypes (Volenec and Cherney 1990) have been reported.…”

Section: Ivdmd and Tn Concentrationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Digestibility of alfalfa decreases with maturity as a result of increased concentration of cell wall material in stems, decreased stem digestibility, and decreased LWR (Albrecht et al 1987). Significant variation for IVDMD and TN concentration in stems has been reported among alfalfa cultivars and accessions (Mowat et al 1965;Buxton et al 1987;Volenec and Cherney 1990) suggesting that selection for improved nutritive value of stems may potentially improve the nutritive value of alfalfa herbage. Alfalfa genotypes with higher LWR, TN concentration, and IVDMD improved dairy cow performance (Émile et al 1997).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Leaf and stem dry matter digestibility and ruminal undegradable proteins of alfalfa cultivars

Tremblay¹,

Bélanger²,

McRae³

et al. 2002

Can. J. Plant Sci.

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R. 2002. Leaf and stem dry matter digestibility and ruminal undegradable proteins of alfalfa cultivars. Can. J. Plant Sci. 82: 383-393. Increased dry matter digestibility and ruminal undegradable protein (RUP) concentration are traits highly ranked to improve the nutritive value of forage legumes. Whole-plant, leaf, and stem samples of 27 alfalfa cultivars grown in eastern Canada were analysed for total nitrogen (TN), in vitro RUP, and in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD). The objectives were to determine if significant variation exists among these cultivars, and to establish the relationship between nutritive value parameters of leaves and stems, and those of whole plants. Cultivars were seeded in triplicate on 2 consecutive years and evaluated during the 2 subsequent production years with two harvests per year. There were significant differences among cultivars in IVDMD of stems and plants in spring growth and summer regrowth. Cultivar differences in leaf IVDMD were significant only in spring growth, but this variation was negligible in practical terms. Cultivars with high forage IVDMD also had high stem IVDMD and this relationship was stronger in summer regrowth. Alfalfa plant IVDMD is a function of stem digestibility and the leaf weight ratio (LWR). Cultivar differences were significant for plant TN in spring growth and summer regrowth, and for stem TN in spring growth only. Leaf (270 to 306 g kg -1 TN) and stem (242 to 287 g kg -1 TN) RUP concentrations varied among cultivars in spring growth. Cultivars with high stem RUP also had high leaf RUP concentration but differences in plant RUP were not always attributed to leaf and stem RUP. The RUP concentration was on average 10% higher in leaves than in stems in spring growth, and this difference reached 15% in summer regrowth. The LWR varied among cultivars in spring growth and summer regrowth, and it was positively related to plant RUP in spring growth. Improved whole-plant RUP concentration is unlikely to be achieved by simply selecting for high RUP in leaves or stems; LWR has a principal role in determining alfalfa plant RUP concentration.Key words: Dry matter digestibility, ruminal undegradable proteins, alfalfa, genetic variation, stems, leaves Tremblay, G. F., Bélanger, G., McRae, K. B. et Michaud, R. 2002. Digestibilité de la matière sèche et protéines non dégrad-ables dans le rumen des feuilles et des tiges de cultivars de luzerne. Can. J. Plant Sci. 82: 383-393. Une digestibilité de la matière sèche et une concentration en protéines non dégradables au niveau du rumen (RUP) élevées sont parmi les premiers critères permettant d'améliorer la valeur nutritive des légumineuses fourragères. Les plantes, les feuilles et les tiges de 27 cultivars de luzerne cultivés dans l'est du Canada ont été analysés pour leur concentration en azote total (TN) et en RUP, ainsi que pour la digestibilité in vitro de la matière sèche (IVDMD). Le but était de déterminer s'il existe une variation significative entre les cultivars, et d'établir la relation entre les paramè...

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Section: Ivdmd and Tn Concentrationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Leaf and stem dry matter digestibility and ruminal undegradable proteins of alfalfa cultivars

Tremblay¹,

Bélanger²,

McRae³

et al. 2002

Can. J. Plant Sci.

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“…However, two alfalfa cultivars, differing for digestibility, induced differences in milk production of dairy cows (Emile et al, 1996(Emile et al, , 1997. Genetic variation for digestibility in alfalfa has been shown (Heinrichs et al, 1969;Buxton et al, 1987;Lenssen et al, 1991;Julier et al, 1996), and possibilities for improving populations have been demonstrated (Demment et al, 1986). Some data are available on changes in digestibility during plant growth.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of growth and cultivar on alfalfa digestibility in a multi-site trial

Julier

Huyghe

1997

Agronomie

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Summary -It is well known that digestibility decreases during growth in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L), but the effects of genetic variation and the environment on digestibility are less documented. Seven cultivars were studied in five locations in France, and four samplings were taken over two regrowth cycles. Forage yield, stem height, number of stems, plant digestibility, stem digestibility and leaf/stem ratio were recorded. All traits were influenced by location, cycle, cultivar and sampling date effects. Digestibility decreased with yield, as plants grew, and leaf/stem ratio also decreased. The regression between plant digestibility and yield was the same for all the cultivars. However, this regression was quite different depending on the location. Digestibility decreased faster in some locations than in others. Location effects were not related to average temperatures. The seven cultivars showed differences in digestibility, as a result of various combinations of leaf/stem ratio and stem digestibility. At

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“…Since milk production was measured during the pre-trial periods, an analysis on yield differences (milk during the trial -pretrial milk) was carried out; it confirmed the superiority of the 6328P alfalfa with a probability level of 0.12 (data not shown). For (Buxton et al, 1987;Lenssen et al, 1988;Jewett et Barnes, 1992). A recent study by Emile et al (1996) reports similar improvements in dairy cow performances using the 6328P alfalfa as a dehydrated supplement to corn silage diets.…”

Section: Dry Matter Intakementioning

confidence: 99%

“…To reach such a goal, better harvest controls (Nelson and Satter, 1990;Minson, 1990) or better conservation and distribution controls could be targeted; however, breeding improvements in a widely used forage species is still the most inexpensive way to succeed. Genetic variation in the digestibility of different alfalfa cultivars or species has been observed using measurements carried out in vitro (Thomas et al, 1968;Allinson et al, 1969;Buxton et al, 1987;Lenssen et al, 1988;Julier et al, 1996) in situ (Andrighetto et al, 1995) or in vivo (Thomas et al, 1968;Wilson et al, 1978;Guy et al, 1978;Minson, 1990). But the effects of such genetic variation on milk production has not been reported for alfalfa, despite evidence from other forage species such as maize (Barrière and Emile, 1990;Barrière et al, 1995), tall fescue (Emile et al, 1992) and a tropical grass, Digitaria milanjiana, (Lowe et al, 1991 (Emile and Traineau, 1993 (Sauvant, 1988 Conrad and Klopfenstein 1988).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic variation in the feeding value of alfalfa genotypes evaluated from experiments with dairy cows

et al. 1997

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Summary — An alfalfa (Medicago sativa L) with improved digestibility, 6328P, was fed to dairy cows in order to determine the effects of its nutritive value on milk production. Three different trials lasting 20, 9 and 16 days were conducted on two groups of ten dairy cows each. Animals were fed either the 6328P alfalfa or the widely used alfalfa variety, Europe. Alfalfa quality and its intake as well as milk production and milk fat and protein contents were recorded. The 6328P alfalfa had a higher leaf/stem ratio and a higher crude protein content than Europe. In vitro as well as in vivo digestibilities increased by 1-9% for the 6328P alfalfa compared with Europe. With 6328P, alfalfa intake increased by 12% (1.9 kg d -1 ), while milk production was raised by an average of 7% (1.4 kg milk d -1 ). This overall increase in milk production was responsible for increased milk fat and milk protein yields despite a lower fat content and only a slightly higher protein content in the milk produced by cows fed the 6328P alfalfa. Clearly genetic variability in the nutritive value of alfalfa exists, and using this variability will improve dairy cow performance.

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Genetic Variation for Forage Quality of Alfalfa Stems

Abstract: forage quality of alfalfa stems. Can. J. Plant Sci. 67: 105'l-106'7. When normally harvested for hay, the basal portion of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) stems is low in forage quality. This study was conducted to determine whether genetic variation for in vitro digestible dry matter (IVDDM)

Cited by 38 publications

References 16 publications

Leaf and stem dry matter digestibility and ruminal undegradable proteins of alfalfa cultivars

Leaf and stem dry matter digestibility and ruminal undegradable proteins of alfalfa cultivars

Effect of growth and cultivar on alfalfa digestibility in a multi-site trial

Genetic variation in the feeding value of alfalfa genotypes evaluated from experiments with dairy cows

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