Partitioning of Forage Mass and Nutritive Value in Sunn Hemp Leaf and Stem Components

Sunn hemp (SH; Crotalaria juncea L.) is a fast-growing, annual, warm-season tropical legume that could complement less productive cool-season forages such as tall fescue during summer. Little is known about seasonal forage mass and nutritive value partitioning in SH plant components when SH is manag...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Isaac Lepcha, Harley D. Naumann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2021-01-01
Series:International Journal of Agronomy
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/5547120
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849695589246173184
author Isaac Lepcha
Harley D. Naumann
author_facet Isaac Lepcha
Harley D. Naumann
author_sort Isaac Lepcha
collection DOAJ
description Sunn hemp (SH; Crotalaria juncea L.) is a fast-growing, annual, warm-season tropical legume that could complement less productive cool-season forages such as tall fescue during summer. Little is known about seasonal forage mass and nutritive value partitioning in SH plant components when SH is managed for forage. We determined partitioning of forage mass and nutritive value (crude protein (CP), in vitro true digestibility (IVTD), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD)) concentrations in SH leaves and stems harvested 35, 45, and 55 days after planting (DAP) at Bradford Research Center, Columbia, MO, in a 2-year field study. Leaf and stem mass increased with increasing DAP and was greatest (P≤0.05) at 55 DAP followed by 45 and 35 DAP. Stems contributed most to the total forage mass beyond 45 DAP. Across years, CP was greatest (P≤0.05) in leaves (281 g kg−1 DM) and lowest for stems (81 g kg−1 DM) at 55 DAP. The lowest NDF (P≤0.05) was observed in leaves (251 g kg−1 DM) and stems (585 g kg−1 DM) at 35 DAP. Acid detergent fiber was lowest (P≤0.05) for SH leaves (178 g kg−1 DM) and stems (484 g kg−1 DM) at 35 DAP. Digestibility of leaves was greater than that of stems and generally decreased with maturity. The nutritive value of leaves was consistently greater than that of stems and decreased with maturity, except for CP of leaves, which was maintained throughout the season. Results suggested that SH leaves can maintain forage mass and greater quality than its stem throughout the growing season.
format Article
id doaj-art-d053d31bdbaf4be68ec50bc24753f424
institution DOAJ
issn 1687-8159
1687-8167
language English
publishDate 2021-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series International Journal of Agronomy
spelling doaj-art-d053d31bdbaf4be68ec50bc24753f4242025-08-20T03:19:43ZengWileyInternational Journal of Agronomy1687-81591687-81672021-01-01202110.1155/2021/55471205547120Partitioning of Forage Mass and Nutritive Value in Sunn Hemp Leaf and Stem ComponentsIsaac Lepcha0Harley D. Naumann1Department of Agriculture, Geosciences, and Natural Resources, University of Tennessee at Martin, Martin, TN 38237, USADivision of Plant Science, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USASunn hemp (SH; Crotalaria juncea L.) is a fast-growing, annual, warm-season tropical legume that could complement less productive cool-season forages such as tall fescue during summer. Little is known about seasonal forage mass and nutritive value partitioning in SH plant components when SH is managed for forage. We determined partitioning of forage mass and nutritive value (crude protein (CP), in vitro true digestibility (IVTD), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD)) concentrations in SH leaves and stems harvested 35, 45, and 55 days after planting (DAP) at Bradford Research Center, Columbia, MO, in a 2-year field study. Leaf and stem mass increased with increasing DAP and was greatest (P≤0.05) at 55 DAP followed by 45 and 35 DAP. Stems contributed most to the total forage mass beyond 45 DAP. Across years, CP was greatest (P≤0.05) in leaves (281 g kg−1 DM) and lowest for stems (81 g kg−1 DM) at 55 DAP. The lowest NDF (P≤0.05) was observed in leaves (251 g kg−1 DM) and stems (585 g kg−1 DM) at 35 DAP. Acid detergent fiber was lowest (P≤0.05) for SH leaves (178 g kg−1 DM) and stems (484 g kg−1 DM) at 35 DAP. Digestibility of leaves was greater than that of stems and generally decreased with maturity. The nutritive value of leaves was consistently greater than that of stems and decreased with maturity, except for CP of leaves, which was maintained throughout the season. Results suggested that SH leaves can maintain forage mass and greater quality than its stem throughout the growing season.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/5547120
spellingShingle Isaac Lepcha
Harley D. Naumann
Partitioning of Forage Mass and Nutritive Value in Sunn Hemp Leaf and Stem Components
International Journal of Agronomy
title Partitioning of Forage Mass and Nutritive Value in Sunn Hemp Leaf and Stem Components
title_full Partitioning of Forage Mass and Nutritive Value in Sunn Hemp Leaf and Stem Components
title_fullStr Partitioning of Forage Mass and Nutritive Value in Sunn Hemp Leaf and Stem Components
title_full_unstemmed Partitioning of Forage Mass and Nutritive Value in Sunn Hemp Leaf and Stem Components
title_short Partitioning of Forage Mass and Nutritive Value in Sunn Hemp Leaf and Stem Components
title_sort partitioning of forage mass and nutritive value in sunn hemp leaf and stem components
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/5547120
work_keys_str_mv AT isaaclepcha partitioningofforagemassandnutritivevalueinsunnhempleafandstemcomponents
AT harleydnaumann partitioningofforagemassandnutritivevalueinsunnhempleafandstemcomponents