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The relationship of leaf strength to cattle preference in tall fescue cultivars

La Relación de la Fuerza de la Hoja para la Preferencia del Ganado en Cultivares Altos de Festuca. FORRAJES

MacAdam, Jennifer W. and Mayland, Henry F. (2003) The relationship of leaf strength to cattle preference in tall fescue cultivars. Agronomy Journal. 95:414-419.

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Abstract

Low values of leaf blade tensile and shear strength have been
related to herbivore preference and intake in perennial ryegrass (Lolium
perenne L.) and other forage grasses. This study examined relationships
between leaf strength and cattle (Bos taunts) preference
for eight cultivars of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.). Both
tensile strength and shear strength of tall fescue leaf blades were
measured, along with several leaf blade anatomical characteristics.
Leaf tensile strength was negatively correlated (r = –0.20, P 5 0.01)
with preference in this study. `Mozark', the cultivar with the highest
leaf tensile strength, also had the highest proportion of structural tissue
in leaf blade transverse sections. Shear strength was also negatively
correlated with preference (r = –0.16, P s 0.05). Leaf strength of
both chamber- and field-grown plants was negatively correlated with
both leaf blade width and thickness. Leaf width and thickness increased
together and were positively correlated with preference in
all experiments. Wider leaves also had greater distance between veins
and therefore more mesophyll tissue volume. We concluded that leaf
width would be a useful trait in the selection of grasses for cattle
preference, since it would result in grasses with a higher proportion
of cell contents to fiber. This conclusion is supported by the positive
correlation of preference with total nonstructural carbohydrates in
an earlier study of the same tall fescue cultivars.

Item Type: Article
NWISRL Publication Number: 1098
Subjects: Animal > Feed preference
Irrigated crops > Grass forage > Animal preference
Mass Import - autoclassified (may be erroneous)
Depositing User: Dan Stieneke
Date Deposited: 20 Nov 2010 21:50
Last Modified: 09 Nov 2016 16:17
Item ID: 156
URI: https://eprints.nwisrl.ars.usda.gov/id/eprint/156