Effect of harvest date on the chemical composition and nutritive value of Cerastium holosteoides

Abstract

Abstract Cerastium holosteoides is a short‐lived plant often found in small proportions on dry and mesotropic semi‐natural, species‐rich grassland communities. To obtain more information about its nutritive value, two experiments on Arrhenatheretum elatioris grassland were carried out to examine the effect of harvest date on in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD), neutral‐detergent fibre (NDF), acid‐detergent fibre (ADF), acid‐detergent lignin (ADL), estimated net energy for lactation (NEL) and crude protein (CP) concentrations of C. holosteoides, and selection of this plant by dairy cows grazing on semi‐natural grassland. C. holosteoides starts flowering in spring and continuously develops new flowers on new branches throughout the summer. Harvests were made in relation to particular growth stages of Dactylis glomerata present in the sward: (A) tillering; (B) stem elongation; (C) ear emergence; (D) flowering; and (E) ripening.Chemical composition and nutritive value were evaluated in 1998 and 1999. With advancing maturity, IVOMD of C. holosteoides decreased from 0·771 at growth stage A to 0·485 at growth stage E. At the same time, CP concentration decreased from 153 to 69 g kg−1 dry matter (DM) and estimated NEL concentration from 6·00 to 4·07 MJ kg−1 DM. With advancing maturity, there was a significant increase in NDF, ADF and ADL concentrations. In the summer harvest season, C. holosteoides contained significantly higher NDF, ADF and ADL concentrations, lower NEL concentration and had a lower IVOMD value than in the spring. Differences between years were also found for IVOMD and for NDF, ADF, ADL and NEL concentrations.In a grazing experiment in the year 1999, at growth stage B, Simmental cows grazed an A. elatioris sward in which the main species was D. glomerata (0·092), and the proportion of C. holosteoides was 0·034. C. holosteoides was, on average, grazed by cows to the same relative extent as other species in the sward.