WATER-SOLUBLE CARBOHYDRATES IN ORCHARDGRASS AND MIXED FORAGES

Abstract

Variations in water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content of orchardgrass among breeding lines, stages of harvest, frequency of harvest and time of day were studied. Water-soluble carbohydrate levels differed among breeding lines harvested at the same stage of development. Water-soluble carbohydrate content increased as orchardgrass plants matured with the most rapid increase following anthesis. Harvesting orchardgrass at intervals suitable for hay produced forage with a higher WSC content in the first two cuts, but a lower content in the third, than forage harvested at pasture stage. Orchardgrass cut at 4 pm contained an average of 3 percentage units more WSC than that cut at 9 am. Levels of WSC in both orchardgrass and grass-legume pasture mixtures declined with successive cuts as the season progressed.