Potential of new summer grasses in Northland

Abstract

Herbage of 22 C4 grasses and 3 C3 grasses grown in Northland was analysed for nutritive quality. Small swards of the grasses were cut at approximately 5-weekly intervals from mid November to mid April to provide forage samples. Digestibility of leaf and stem tissue of a representative range of these grasses assessed by an in vitro technique was not altered significantly by irrigation, and did not alter significantly during the warm-season growth period. Leaf and stem tissue of the various grasses did vary substantially in digestibility, stem tissue usually being lower in digestibility than leaf tissue. Some of the C4 grasses had dry matter digestibilities equivalent to those of the C3 species. The digestibility of herbage from grasses grown at Kaitaia, New Zealand, was frequently higher than that of the same grasses grown in a warmer environment at Lawes, Australia. Crude protein, alcohol soluble sugar, and starch levels were also measured in leaf and stem tissue of the grasses. Crude protein lev...