The Stage of Maturity and Its Effect upon the Chemical Composition of Four Native Range Species

Abstract

Prairie range forage plants can provide needed energy and protein for grazing ruminants, particularly in an era of grass fattened animals. Nutritive value and, therefore, animal performance, are directly related to stage of plant maturity at the time of cutting or grazing. The effect of maturity of four native species in this study was accompanied by a decline in in vitro dry matter digestibility and protein content, and by an increase in fibrous fractions and lignin. Laboratory analyses of prairie species showed seasonal chemical and digestibility changes similar to those of cultivated grasses. A significant date-by-class interaction suggests that cool-season species did not respond differently to maturity changes than did the warm-season species. The neutral sugars found in hemicellulose were xylose, arabinose, glucose, and galactose. Xylose was the predominant structural sugar in all species studied. It would appear that laboratory analysis could serve to estimate nutritive value of various prairie grasses.