Chemical composition, digestibility and in situ degradability of narbon vetch grain and straw grown in a Mediterranean region

Abstract

Apparent digestibility of narbon vetch ( Vicia narbonensis)grain and straw were mea- sured using four Chios wether sheep per foodstuff. In another trial, the in situ degradation of narbon vetch grain and straw in the rumen of three Chios ewes were measured. The crude protein (CP) and in vitro organic matter digestibility values were 23.4 and 87.6 for narbon vetch grain and 7.4 and 44.8% for narbon vetch straw. In vivo apparent digestion coefficients of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM) and CP were for narbon vetch grain 78, 80 and 75% and for narbon vetch straw 44, 42 and 47%, respec- tively. The effective degradability (outflow rate 0.05 .h -1 ) for narbon vetch grain and straw were for CP 74 and 31% (corrected for microbial contamination) and for DM 64 and 36%, respectively.