THE EFFECT OF MATURITY OF ITALIAN RYEGRASS (Lolium multiflorum, L) ON IN VITRO RUMEN DIGESTION AND GAS PRODUCTION

Three stages of growth of Italian ryegrass (pre-blooming, P-B; early-blooming, E-B; and late-blooming, L-B) were used to evaluate the effect of maturity on in vitro digestion of dry matter, fiber components and gas production. The rumen digestibility and gas production values were obtained by incubation of each sample in the rumen fluid of sheep for 12, 24, 36, 48 and 72 hr, respectively. The results showed that digestibility of dry matter (DM) significantly reduced (p < 0.05) as advancing maturity of the grass. Similarly, the digestibility of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) also significantly decreased (p < 0.05) with advancing maturity at all incubation times. However, the effect of maturity on digestibility of cellulose and hemicellulose was only detected when the samples were incubated more than 36 hr, where L-B was lower than P-B and E-B. Potential digestibility of nutrients, the maximum digestibility attainable in the rumen theoretically, was also higher at P-B than those of E-B and L-B. The amount of gas produced by microbial fermentation was closely related to the extent of DM digestion, and it was negatively correlated with advancing maturity of the grass.