Observations on in situ degradation of forage cell components in alfalfa and Italian ryegrass.

The rate and extent of degradation of forage feed fractions contained in alfalfa and Italian ryegrass hays were determined. Nylon bags filled with 4 g of each forage were suspended in the rumen of two cannulated cows immediately before feeding and incubated for 10 different times (0, 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48, 72, 120, and 168 h). The alfalfa hay, which had lower NDF, showed a lower extent, but a higher rate, of NDF degradation than the Italian ryegrass (41.1 vs. 59.8% and 4.64 vs. 2.91%/h, respectively). Alfalfa cell walls were degraded more rapidly than Italian ryegrass even though their lignin content was higher. The hemicellulose fermentation of alfalfa showed a longer lag time (13 h) and an undegradable fraction nearly twice that for Italian ryegrass (63.3 vs. 37.1%). Cellulose from alfalfa was degraded at a higher rate than NDF or ADF, indicating that cellulose may be the primary site of hydrolysis of the cell wall in the rumen. Calculations based on in situ degradability indicate that alfalfa can have a higher inclusion than Italian ryegrass in diets for dairy cows because of lower NDF and greater availability of cell contents.