• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.517-522
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• 2007

The aim of this study was to compare in vitro gas production kinetics, metabolizable energy (ME), organic matter digestibility (OMD) and microbial protein (MP) production of widely used legume hays in ruminant nutrition in Turkey. Gas production were determined at 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h and their kinetics were described using the equation p = a+b ($1-e^{-ct}$). There were significant differences among legume hays in terms of chemical composition. The crude protein content of legume hays ranged from 11.7 to 18.6% of dry matter (DM); crude fat from 2.1 to 3.5% DM; neutral detergent fiber from 35.6 to 52.0% DM; acid detergent fiber from 32.0 to 35.5% DM and acid detergent lignin 1.7 to 11.0% DM. Total gas production after 96 h incubation ranged between 61.67 and 76.00 ml/0.200 g of substrate. At 24, 72 and 96 h incubation the total gas production for common vetch were significantly (p<0.01) higher than those of the other legume hays. The ME, OMD and MP of legume hays ranged from 9.09 to 11.12 MJ/kg DM, 61.30 to 75.54% and 90.35 to 138.05 g/kg DM, respectively. The ME, OMD and MP of common vetch was significantly (p<0.01) higher than those of the other hays due to low cell-wall contents and high crude protein. At the end of the experiment, differences in chemical composition of legume hays resulted in the differences in the in vitro gas production, gas production kinetics and the estimated parameters such as ME, OMD and MP. Common vetch can be recommended to hay producers and ruminant breeders, due to high ME, OMD and MP production.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.351-352
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• 1989

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.9
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• pp.1278-1285
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• 2008

Measurement of gas produced during in vitro fermentation was used to investigate the fermentation characteristics and interactions of rice straw, wheat straw or maize stover mixed with alfalfa or clover at proportions of 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75 and 0:100, respectively. Cumulative gas production was recorded at 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, 24 and 48 h of incubation, and the Gompertz function was used to describe the kinetics of gas production. In vitro dry matter and organic matter disappearances (IVDMD and IVOMD) were determined after 48 h incubation. The rate of gas production of clover was higher (p<0.05) than that of rice straw, wheat straw, maize stover and alfalfa when straws and hays were incubated separately. Increasing the proportion of alfalfa in the straw-alfalfa mixtures increased (p<0.05) the rates, but not the maximum volume of gas production. However, both rate and the maximum volume of gas production were increased (p<0.01) as the proportions of clover increased in the straw-clover mixtures. The cumulative gas production at 48 h, IVDMD and IVOMD showed no consistent interaction effects between different mixtures of cereal straws and hays. The extent of interactive effects was affected by the types of cereal straw, legume hay and their proportions in the mixture. The appropriate combination for the mixture of rice straw or maize stover with leguminous hays was 75:25 and 25:75, respectively. The better combination occurred at a proportion of 50:50 for the mixture of wheat straw and alfalfa. We conclude that the suitable proportion of low-quality straw and high quality legume hay combination should be considered in the ration formulation system of ruminants according to the extent of positive interactive effects.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.1005-1015
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• 2009

Two experiments were carried out to determine the utility of sainfoin hay, a temperate tanniferous forage legume, as a dietary supplement for grass-fed cows. The condensed tannins (CT) of sainfoin might counteract the typical metabolic ammonia load of cows in intensive grazing systems. Furthermore, the physical fibrousness of sainfoin might improve ruminal pH stability. In the preliminary experiment, the eating rate of non-lactating Holstein cows of two tanniferous hays, sainfoin and birdsfoot trefoil, was compared to that of a grass-clover hay after specific periods of time (n = 4). The eating rate of sainfoin was superior to that of the other forages. In the main experiment, designed as a replicated 3${\times}$3 Latin square, six ruminally-cannulated, lactating Red Holstein cows received grass, concentrate and either no supplementation, 3 kg/d of grass hay or 3 kg/d of sainfoin hay (n = 6). Measured intakes of the grass hay and the sainfoin hay were 2.0 and 1.5 kg DM, and two cows entirely refused to eat the sainfoin hay and had to be excluded from data analysis. Grass DMI was similar for cows supplemented with sainfoin hay and cows fed only grass whereas intake of concentrate was higher (p<0.01) for the latter treatment. Continuous measurement of ruminal pH showed that the minimum pH at night tended to be lower (p<0.10) with grass-only feeding compared to sainfoin supplementation, but pH did not decline below the threshold of subacute acidosis for a longer period of time. The slightly higher intake of nitrogen (N) for cows supplemented with sainfoin hay (413 g/d) compared to cows fed only grass (399 g/d) was accompanied by an increased (p<0.05) fecal N excretion and a tendency for an increased (p<0.10) urinary N excretion. Ruminal ammonia concentration, as well as plasma and milk urea, were not affected by sainfoin supplementation. In conclusion, the lack of positive effects typical for CT might be explained either by the limited CT content of this plant species (55 g/kg DM) or the relatively low proportion of sainfoin in the total diet or both. Moreover, due to the unexpected low grass quality, the general ammonia load might have been too low for CT to have an impact.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.39-43
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• 2018

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of various roughage sources on nutrient digestibility and enteric methane ($CH_4$), and carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) production in goats. Four castrated black goats ($48.5{\pm}0.6kg$) were individually housed in environmentally controlled respiration-metabolism chambers. The experiment design was a $4{\times}4$ balanced Latin square design with 4 roughage types and 4 periods. Alfalfa, tall fescue, rice straw, and corn silage was used as representative of legume, grass, straw, and silage, respectively. Dry matter digestibility was higher (p < 0.001) in corn silage than in alfalfa hay. Dry matter digestibility of alfalfa hay was higher than those of tall fescue or rice straw (p < 0.001). Neutral detergent fiber digestibility of tall fescue was lower (p < 0.001) than those of alfalfa, rice straw, or corn silage. Daily enteric $CH_4$ production and the daily enteric $CH_4$ production per kilogram of $BW^{0.75}$, dry matter intake (DMI), organic matter intake (OMI), digested DMI, and digested OMI of rice straw did not differ from those of tall fescue but were higher (p < 0.001) than those of alfalfa or corn silage. Roughage type had no effect on enteric $CO_2$ emission in goats. Straw appeared to generate more enteric $CH_4$ production than legume or silage, but similar to grass.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.451-458
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• 2004

No comprebensive forage quality of annual legumes harvested and cured in spring has been conducted in Korea. Therefore, this experiment was carried out to gain information on the quality of crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.), bolta baIansa clover(Trifolium ba/anansae L.), and persian c1over(Trifolium resupinatum L.) during field curing in spring. The dry matter content of crimson clover at harvest was 24.7%, while bolta balansa and persian clovers had 20.4 and 18.8%, respectively. The moisture content of persian clover was low at the final curing day. But All species took 4 days to reach moisture content under 20%Tedding frequency did not affect moisture content, but consisten trends were also observed during the field curing. Persian clover tended to show a higher leaf-stem ratio than crimson and bolta balansa clovers on dry matter basis. Crude protein of persian clover(19.5%) was higher than other legumes. The percentage of erode protein was decreased from 17.8 to 16.5% as tedding frequency often did. Neutral detergent fiber(NDF) and acid detergent fiber(ADF) contents of persian clover were lower than those of other legumes. From the comparison among tedding frequency, NDF and ADF contents of three times were higher than those of one and two times. Relative feed value(RFV) of persian clover hay was the highest(178) and classified as Grade Prime in forage quality standard. Crimson and bolta balansa clovers in the RFV were also high quality as Grade 1 in forage quality standard. The RFV of legume hay was decreased from 150 to 140 as tedding frequency often did Results of the experiment indicate that hay quality of persian clover was higher than other clovers. And this is due to high leaf and stem content, hollow stem and late maturity stage. Then tedding frequency in annual legume can be teded by two times for quality.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.378-384
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• 1997

The ruminal solubility of copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo), and zinc (Zn) in eight Philippine forages was studied. These forages were: 1) grasses: paragrass (Brachiaria mutica (Forsk.) Stapf), stargrass (Cynodon plectostachyum Pilger), and napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach.); 2) creeping legumes: calopogonium or calopo (Calopogonium muconoides Desv.) and centrocema (Centrocema pubescens Benth.); 3) tree lequmes: gliricidia or kakawate (Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) Walp.), leucaena or ipil-ipil (Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit.), and sesbania or katuray (Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Poir). Nylon bags with samples were incubated for 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72h in three rumen cannulated sheep fed with timothy hay (Phleum pratense L.) at 2% body weight/d. The 0-h bags were washed with deionized water. There were species differences (p < 0.05) on the different solubilities of trace elements. At O-h incubation, the trend of solubility was Mo (54%) > Zn (43%) > Cu (38.7%) > Mn (29.5%). At 3-h incubation, all the elements except Mn had an average solubility above 50%. Combining particulate passage rate (1.9%/h) and various trace elements disappearance rates, the effective ruminal solubilization (ERS) of trace elements were computed. The ERS across species ranged from 44.6 to 89.9% for Cu, 29.9 to 84% for Mn, 66 to 95.1% for Mo, and 30.1 to 82.3% for Zn resulting to a trend of Mo > Zn > Cu > Mn.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.127-132
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• 1999

No comprehensive study of yield and quality losses of forage legumes harvested and cured in spring has been conducted in Korea, therefore, this experiment was carried out to gain information on yield and quality, losses of alfalfa(Medicgo sativa L.), crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.), and red clover(Trifolium pratense L.) during field curing in spring(mid-May). Alfalfa was highest in dry matter content of 15% at harvest, while crimson clover and red clover had 12.4 and 11.5%, respectively. Species differences for the dry matter content were maintained and consistent trends were observed during the field curing. Alfalfa took seven days to reach dry matter content over 80%, while both crimson clover and red clover took eight days. Crimson clover and alfalfa tended to show a higher leaf-stem ratio than red clover based on dry matter, but red clover showed a higher leaf-stem ratio than alfalfa and crimson clover based on crude protein content. Losses in dry matter of alfalfa from leaf shattering were higher than crimson clover and red clover, and similar trends were detected losses in crude protein for three different legumes. Fresh legume forages averaged higher in clude protein(CP), total digestible nutrients(TDN), and relative feed value(RFV), while dry legume forages averaged lower in acid detergent fiber(ADF) and neutral detergent fiber(NDF). Results of the experiment indicate that hay curing in spring affects crude protein concentration more than ADF and NDF, and this is due, in part, to leaf shattering caused by field operations.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland and Forage Science
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.189-196
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• 1999

This study was conducted to evaluate the dry matter yield, quality and utilization of nutrients of wild Korean lespedeza as a forage legume sources. Dry matter(DM) yield of stages, chemical composition and DM digestibility were observed, also DM intake, digestibility and utilization of nitrogen and energy by Korean native goats were determined. Experimental diets include three treatrnents ; mixture grass hay(GS), GS 80% + lespedeza(LA) 20% and GS 60% + LA 40%, respectively. The DM yield of Korean lespedeza(LA) with advancing the growing stage tended to significantly increase(P<0.05). The average DM yield was observed 7,336kg/ha. CP content of LA tended to decrease, but fiber content tended to increase at growing stage advanced(P<0.05). The tannin content of LA was highest in bud stage (54.5mg/g), but tended to decrease at growing stage advanced, lowest in seed ripe stage(26.8mg/g) (P<0.05). With increasing the level of LA supplementation, DM intake by Korean native goats slightly increased, but no differences were observed in all diets. The digestibility of DM, cellular constituents and NDF were slightly lower for GS 100% diets than LA 20% and 40% supplemented diets(P<0.05). Apparently digested N% was not detected significant differences in all diets, but retained N and biological value were higher for LA supplemented diets than for GS 100% diets (P<0.05). Utilization of DE and ME was not detected significant differences in all diets. Above the results, it could be suggested that LA have a potential to provide as forage legume sources considering the DM yield, DM digestibility and nitrogen utilization.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.181-186
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• 2017

Objective: Leucaena leucocephala (Leucaena) is a perennial tropical legume that can be directly grazed or harvested and offered to ruminants as hay, silage, or fresh. However, Leucaena contain phenolic compounds, which are considered anti-nutritional factors as these may reduce intake, digestibility and thus animal performance. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to determine effects of Leucaena silage (LS) feeding levels on rumen microbial populations, N-balance and microbial protein synthesis in dairy steers. Methods: Four, rumen fistulated dairy steers with initial weight of $167{\pm}12kg$ were randomly assigned to receive dietary treatments according to a $4{\times}4$ Latin square design. Treatments were as followings: T1 = untreated rice straw (RS; Control), T2 = 70% RS+30% LS, T3 = 40% RS+60% LS, and T4 = 100% LS. Dairy steers were fed rice straw and LS ad libitum and supplemented with concentrate at 0.2% of body weight/d. Results: Results revealed that the rumen microbial population, especially cellulolytic, proteolytic bacteria and fungal zoospores were enhanced in steers that received 60% of LS (p<0.05), whereas the amylolytic bacteria population was not affected by treatments (p>0.05). Protozoal population was linearly decreased with increasing level of LS (p<0.05). Moreover, N-balance and microbial protein synthesis were enhanced by LS feeding (p<0.05) and were the highest in 60% LS group. Conclusion: Based on this study, it could be concluded that replacement of RS with 60% LS significantly improved microbial population and microbial protein synthesis in diary steers.