Digestibility and feeding value of pearl millet as influenced by the brown-midrib, low-lignin trait.

Our objectives were to determine the intake and digestibility of pearl millet as influenced by the brown-midrib (BMR), low-lignin trait and to determine the relative acceptability of BMR pearl millet in relation to its normal counterpart. Two field replicates of brown-midrib pearl millet and its normal counterpart were harvested as hay at the boot to heading stage twice during the growing season (2 genotypes x 2 cuttings x 2 field replicates). Twenty-four wethers had ad libitum access to a total forage diet (pearl millet forage), water and trace mineralized salt. The experimental period was 21 d (14 d for adjustment and 7 d for sample collection). Lignin was 23% lower (P less than or equal to .01) and in vitro DM digestibility (IVDMD) was 4% higher (P less than or equal to .01) in BMR vs normal genotype forages. Wethers preferred first-cutting millet to second-cutting millet, as evidenced by 62% higher (P less than or equal to .01) DMI for first-cutting forages. Dry matter intake of second-cutting forages was higher (P less than or equal to .10) for BMR pearl millet forage than for normal pearl millet (2.0 vs 1.5% of BW), but first-cutting forages were similar in DMI (2.9% of BW). In an acceptability trial of pearl millet regrowth (4 wk), grazing lambs with access to both genotypes displayed a marked preference (P less than .01) for the BMR genotype, spending an average of 2.6 min on plots containing the brown-midrib pearl millet for every minute spent on the normal genotype.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)