Abstract
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) cultivars with improved forage quality would fill a forage gap during summer when hot dry weather reduces production of cool‐season forages on marginal lands of the northeastern United States. ‘Cave‐in‐Rock’, ‘Trailblazer’, ‘Shawnee’, and ‘Pathfinder’ switchgrass hays were harvested and baled from field plots at Rock Springs, PA, on 29 June 2007, 16 June 2008 (Cut 1), and 8 Aug. 2008 (Cut 2) and fed to mature wether sheep. In 2008, Trailblazer was unavailable so Pathfinder was substituted. Morphological development stage and leaf and stem proportions were determined at each harvest. In 2007, cultivars did not differ in digestion of dry matter (DM) or fiber constituents and sheep consumed switchgrass hays similarly. In 2008, sheep consumed hay of switchgrass cultivars similarly but consumed more of Cut 1 than Cut 2 hay. Cut 1 hay also had greater neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and hemicellulose digestibility than Cut 2 hay. Shawnee consistently had lower DM, fiber, and crude protein digestibility (CPD) than Pathfinder in both cuts. Switchgrass cultivars selected for improved DM disappearance in vitro did not have greater DM or fiber digestion compared with Cave‐in‐Rock when fed to sheep. Differences among cultivars in nutritive value and in vivo fiber and DM digestion mostly were due to differences in plant maturity and leaf‐to‐stem ratio.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
