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One low‐tannin sericea synthetic strain ( Lespedeza cuneata (Dumont) G. Don) was compared with high‐tannin strains over different years, harvests, and test locations for in vitro dry matter disappearance (IVDMD). Concentrations of fiber and lignin were determined for representative samples of both low‐tannin and high‐tannin strains. Increments of a water‐soluble purified tannin fraction, “sericin,” were added to samples of one lowtannin and one high‐tannin strain for IVDMD analysis. The low‐tannin strain was consistently about 25% higher in IVDMD than high‐tannin sericea over years, harvests, and locations where mean values varied widely. There were only small differences among high‐tannin strains for IVDMD. The low‐tannin strain was quite similar to two high‐tannin strains in fiber and lignin concentrations. The results strongly support the conclusion that tannin was the cause of IVDMD difference between lowand high‐tannin genotypes. IVDMD of both low‐ and high‐tannin sericea decreased progressively with added increments of sericin. Both tannin and sericin were effective in limiting the IVDMD of sericea forage.
Cope et al. (Mon,) studied this question.