Impact of sampling and storage technique, and duration of storage, on the composition of fresh grass when analysed using near‐infrared reflectance spectroscopy

Dale, A. J.; Gordon, Alan; Archer, John; Ferris, C.P.

doi:10.1111/gfs.12266

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The analysis of other pasture nutrient concentrations is typically done in the laboratory after being sent in the postal system, with results received after the grazing event. Unlike ensiled forages both oxidative degradation of carbohydrates and hydrolysis of peptides continues post-harvest in fresh grass (Binnie et al, 1997;Dale et al, 2016). Dale et al (2016) suggested nutrient analysis should occur within 24 h to minimize degradation to plant material and changes in nutrient concentrations.…”

Section: Discussion Precision Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unlike ensiled forages both oxidative degradation of carbohydrates and hydrolysis of peptides continues post-harvest in fresh grass (Binnie et al, 1997;Dale et al, 2016). Dale et al (2016) suggested nutrient analysis should occur within 24 h to minimize degradation to plant material and changes in nutrient concentrations. This is unlikely to occur within a small country such as the UK, let alone larger countries, where the distance to analytical laboratories may be greater.…”

Section: Discussion Precision Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Use of Mobile Near-Infrared Spectroscopy for Real-Time Pasture Management

Bell

Mereu

Davis

2018

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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Changes in pasture nutrients over the growing season are typically not monitored but doing so may help farmers improve how effectively they utilize forage. The aim of this research was to assess the use of real-time near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for monitoring seasonal changes in nutrient concentrations of different pasture types used for grazing and silage production. Three permanent pastures and three temporary ley pastures (3 years old) grazed by cattle or sheep and/or used for silage production were monitored weekly for 20 weeks from April to August 2017 in the UK. Five pasture samples per field were obtained per week for NIRS analysis and estimation of fresh and dry matter herbage cover (both kg per hectare). Herbage height was also measured each week. Permanent pastures included a diverse range of native UK grass species, and temporary ley pastures were predominantly perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) with either white (Trifolium repens) or red clover (Trifolium pretense). Effects of pasture type (permanent or temporary), phase of production (grazed or rested for regrowth) and month of year (April to August) on pasture nutrients [dry matter, crude protein, acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), water soluble carbohydrate (WSC), ash, digestible organic matter (DOMD), and dry matter digestibility (DMD)] were assessed by fitting a linear mixed model. Considerable variation was observed in pasture production and in the concentrations of dry matter, crude protein and WSC in pastures. This study suggests that grazing pastures to a mean height of below 7 cm results in a significantly reduced concentration of crude protein, DOMD, and DMD, which may be detrimental to the grass intake and protein intake of the grazing animal. The DOMD and DMD of pasture were positively correlated with herbage height and herbage cover crude protein concentration. An approach of real-time nutrient monitoring will facilitate more timely adaptive pasture management than currently feasible for farmers. This should lead to productivity gain.

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Section: Discussion Precision Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussion Precision Monitoringmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Use of Mobile Near-Infrared Spectroscopy for Real-Time Pasture Management

Bell

Mereu

Davis

2018

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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“…Alomar et al [81] concluded that reflectance NIRS could accurately predict the compositional components, including DM (R 2 = 0.99, SE = 6.5 g kg −1 ) (SE = standard error) and CP (R 2 = 0.91, SE = 18.4 g kg −1 ), of a variety of fresh grass swards in Southern Chile. Dale et al [82] developed fresh grass NIRS calibrations to investigate optimum sampling and storage techniques on Irish PRG dominant pastures and reported R 2 values of 0.92 (SE = 0.95 g kg fresh weight −1 ), 0.90 (SE = 0.543 g kg fresh weight −1 ) and 0.79 (SE = 0.622 g kg fresh weight −1 ) for DM, N and WSC, respectively. Lobos et al [83] reported good prediction performance (R 2 ≥ 0.84) for fresh grass NIRS analysis for parameters DM (RMSE = 1.13%) and CP (RMSE = 2.22%), in comparison with low prediction performance (R 2 ≤ 0.78) for DMD (RMSE = 2.41%), OMD (RMSE = 2.61%), and WSC (RMSE = 0.06%) in Chilean permanent pasture.…”

Section: Grass Quality Analysis By Means Of Near Infrared Spectroscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review of Precision Technologies for Optimising Pasture Measurement on Irish Grassland

Murphy

O’Brien

et al. 2021

Agriculture

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The development of precision grass measurement technologies is of vital importance to securing the future sustainability of pasture-based livestock production systems. There is potential to increase grassland production in a sustainable manner by achieving a more precise measurement of pasture quantity and quality. This review presents an overview of the most recent seminal research pertaining to the development of precision grass measurement technologies. One of the main obstacles to precision grass measurement, sward heterogeneity, is discussed along with optimal sampling techniques to address this issue. The limitations of conventional grass measurement techniques are outlined and alternative new terrestrial, proximal, and remote sensing technologies are presented. The possibilities of automating grass measurement and reducing labour costs are hypothesised and the development of holistic online grassland management systems that may facilitate these goals are further outlined.

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“…New tools and sources of information for biomass and nutrient composition measurements are being developed to help quantify temporal and spatial changes in herbage in real-time to provide more timely information for enhanced land management [10][11][12]. For perishable plant material, such as grass, the implementation of real-time near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is beneficial given that changes in nutrient concentrations can occur within 24 h of harvesting [13]. Bell et al [12] used real-time NIRS combined with a measure of herbage production (e.g., herbage per hectare and its height) to show that grazing pastures of a mean height of below seven centimetres result in a significantly reduced concentration of crude protein and digestibility, which may be detrimental to the productivity of grazing animals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Herbage Density, Height and Age on Nutrient and Invertebrate Generalist Predator Abundance in Permanent and Temporary Pastures

Toupet

Gibbons

Goodacre

et al. 2020

Land

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The aim of this research was to assess differences in the quantity and quality of herbage and invertebrate generalist predator abundance among permanent and temporary pastures. Two permanent pastures and four temporary ley pastures (either one year or two years since being sown) were monitored weekly for 10 weeks in the spring. Permanent pastures included a diverse range of native UK grass species, and temporary ley pastures were predominantly perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) with or without white clover (Trifolium repens). Weekly measurements of herbage height (in centimeters), herbage cover (fresh and dry matter in kg per hectare) and herbage density (fresh and dry matter in kg per hectare per centimeter) were obtained for each field, along with lycosid spider and carabid beetle abundance. Weekly pasture samples were used to obtain nutrient concentrations of dry matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), ash, oil, sugars, digestible organic matter in the dry matter (DOMD) and metabolisable energy (ME) in the herbage as a measure of forage quality for grazing or harvesting. A linear mixed model was used to assess the effect of sward age, herbage density and height on herbage production, nutrient concentrations and invertebrate abundance. Although this study showed that permanent pastures were associated with lower nutrient concentrations of crude protein, ash, oil and ME compared to younger and predominantly perennial ryegrass pastures, the older pastures were associated with higher carabid numbers. Furthermore, permanent pastures had a higher density of dry matter herbage compared to younger pastures, and more dense and taller swards were associated with higher lycosid numbers. The study suggests that within pastures of 3 to 20 cm height, increasing the height and density of swards increases both ME and oil concentrations in herbage, therefore enhancing forage nutrient quality. Older and more permanent pastures can be beneficial for plant and invertebrate generalist predator populations, and still provide a useful source of nutrients for forage production.

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Impact of sampling and storage technique, and duration of storage, on the composition of fresh grass when analysed using near‐infrared reflectance spectroscopy

Cited by 6 publications

References 41 publications

The Use of Mobile Near-Infrared Spectroscopy for Real-Time Pasture Management

The Use of Mobile Near-Infrared Spectroscopy for Real-Time Pasture Management

A Review of Precision Technologies for Optimising Pasture Measurement on Irish Grassland

Effect of Herbage Density, Height and Age on Nutrient and Invertebrate Generalist Predator Abundance in Permanent and Temporary Pastures

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