Proceedings of the Australian Society of Animal Production · 1980 · 35 citations · 0 references
AgricultureAgronomyPlant SciencesPlant BiochemistryPlant NutritionPlant PhysiologyLegume CropsNitrogen NutritionNutrient AvailabilityNutritional Trait AssessmentSoil Nutrient AvailabilitySoil-plant Nutrient RelationsBrowse NutritionDry Matter ContentEarly ScreeningHerbage DigestibilityLeaf Nitrogen ContentLeaf Nutrient AnalysisNutritive Value EvaluationPlant Tissue Nitrogen Testing
Twenty-four species (27 accessions) of tropical browse legumes were sampled in the dry season. Determinations of nylon bag dry matter digestibility (NBDMD), fibre, lignin, nitrogen, phosphorus and ash revealed large differences between accessions and also between leaves and stems (<5 mm diameter). Leaf NBDMD ranged from 30.4 to 80.9% with 8 of the accessions having NBDMD above 60%. Nitrogen concentration ranged from 1.38 to 3.66% for leaves and 0.59 to 2.28% in stems. Phosphorus ranged from 0.10 to 0.31% in leaves and 0.07 to 0.38% in stems. Ash was low for all species, especially in stems. The NBDMD values were highly correlated with all the other variables. Lignin was most closely related (r = -0.924, RSD 6.54). Determinations of NBDMD or lignin could be useful as an early screening technique to reduce the numbers of accessions for further testing.