Elephantgrass degradability at different maturity stages evaluated by the in vitro/gas technique

Abstract

Elephantgrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) is a tropical grass of high dry matter accumulation capacity, but its nutritive value is strongly influenced by its maturity. Considering the cellular wall intrinsic nature of different parts of the plant, the knowledge of its rates and degradation extent allow the determination of which component and which maturity stage affects its digestion. Therefore, the objective of this trial was to evaluate the elephantgrass CV Napier dry matter (DM) degradability by the in vitro/gas technique, with cuts from 45 to 105 days, with intervals of 10 days between cuts. A decrease was noticed in the elephantgrass fraction degradability with the stage maturity progress. The DM degradability regression coefficients estimated of the digestion remaining residue for leaves and stems were 0.51 and 0.89, respectively. For leaves and stems fiber degradability in neutral detergent (NDF) the regression coefficients were 0.82 and 0.92, respectively. For the total gas production the regression coefficient for leaves was 0.56 and for stems 0.90. In general, the elephantgrass stems, in relation to the progress of vegetative maturity, presented larger influence on the decrease of the DM and NDF degradability than the leaves. The progress in the elephantgrass maturity stage affects directly the stem and leave degradabilities. This is more accentuated for stems due to the more intense cellular wall lignification.