Effects of Surfactant Tween 80 on Enzymatic Accessibility and Degradation of Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) at Different Growth Stages

The study evaluates the enzymatic dry matter (DM) degradability and water holding capacity of leaf and stem fractions of orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) at different growth stages with or without the presence of surfactant Tween 80. While Tween 80 significantly (p<0.05) increased water and enzyme holding capacities in the leaf blades fraction, less was observed in the fraction of leaf sheath and stem of orchardgrass. The enzyme holding capacity in the leaves was also altered more than that for water holding capacity. This resulted in the increased rate and extent of enzymatic hydrolysis of the leaf blade fractions at two growth stages, whereas little was with leaf sheath and stem fractions. It was also observed that at 0.005% concentrations of Tween 80 the enzymatic DM degradability of young leaf blades was higher (p<0.05) by 20-30% compared to that of the control, as well as for water and enzyme holding capacity. For matured leaf blades the DM degradability were increased with over 0.01% concentrations of the surfactant, but the increase was less than leaf blades of young orchardgrass. This result suggests the possibility of using the surfactant Tween 80 to improve forage digestibility in the rumen.