The use of the cellulase digestion procedure for indexing the dry matter digestibility of forages

The effects of grazing, fire, nitrogen and water availability on nutritional quality of grass in semi-arid savanna, South Africa

“…Thus, the overall quality of grass is affected by the amount of dietary fiber it contains (McDonald et al, 1996). The dry matter digestibility of grass species was assessed by the in vitro digestible dry matter method of Zacharias (1986) because this technique incorporates concentrations, ratios and structures of forage constituents in an index of potential for breakdown by rumen microbial populations . Phosphorus concentrations were ascertained spectrophotometrically according to the micro technique of the AOAC (1990).…”

The influence of applied nitrogen on herbage yield and quality ofLolium perenneL. pastures during the establishment year under subtropical conditions

“…The in vitro digestibility of herbage samples was estimated from cellulase DM disappearance (CDMD) (Zacharias, 1986). Herbage N was estimated using an auto-analyzer, incorporating a technique based on a modification of the Kjeldahl method (Hambleton, 1977).…”

The effects of continuous and rotational grazing of sourveld on the quality of herbage selected by Simmentaler heifers

“…Relational functions between in vitro and in vivo DMD Tydskrif Weidingsveren.S.Afr. (1989), 6(4) (Zacharias, 1986), between in vivo DMD and ME (Corbett, 1978), and between ME and net energy, NE (Garrett, 1980), were used to convert the mean in vitro DMD estimates to NE. Expected livemass gains were then calculated from feed requirement tables (N.R.C.…”