Some Factors Causing Differences in Digestibility of Grasses Measured by an in Vitro Method

Stage of growth, leafiness and the accumulation of dead material were evaluated as factors causing differences in digestibility between varieties of perennial ryegrass, cocksfoot and timothy. In first growth these factors only partly accounted for the variation in digestibility between species but almost entirely accounted for the variation between varieties within each species. In the regrowths, heading behavior and leafiness were not closely associated with digestibility, which indicated that the variation between grasses following first growth may be a result of inherent differences.