Table 5.
Nutrient composition1 of pasture forages
| Nutrients2 | C–W3 | W–C4 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRS5 | CRS6 | BRS | CRS | |||||
| CSG | BER | CSG | CRB | BER | CSG | CRB | CSG | |
| Digestible energy, Mcal/kg | 2.11 | 2.12 | 2.05 | 2.07 | 2.17 | 2.13 | 2.01 | 2.17 |
| Crude protein, % | 26.3 | 24.1 | 13.1 | 24.6 | 18.4 | 17.5 | 19.0 | 21.0 |
| Acid detergent fiber, % | 31.3 | 31.1 | 35.8 | 34.0 | 32.2 | 34.4 | 38.3 | 37.0 |
| Neutral detergent fiber, % | 58.8 | 59.3 | 63.0 | 60.2 | 58.7 | 60.1 | 63.9 | 57.6 |
| Non-structural carbohydrates7, % | 5.1 | 5.2 | 6.6 | 2.9 | 7.9 | 7.3 | 4.5 | 5.2 |
| Water-soluble carbohydrates % | 6.9 | 3.5 | 5.5 | 2.2 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 4.3 | 3.5 |
| Ethanol-soluble carbohydrates, % | 3.1 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 3.8 | 3.1 |
| Starch, % | 0.9 | 1.7 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 1.7 |
1Nutrient composition of forage samples was determined by near-infrared spectroscopy (Equi-Analytical Laboratories, Ithaca, NY). Concentrations are reported on a dry-matter basis
2Nutrient concentrations are reported for hand-clipped representative samples collected in each of the pasture sections on the day of transition
3C–W: transitions from cool-season grass (CSG) to warm-season grass
4W–C: transitions from warm-season grass to CSG
5BRS: bermudagrass (BER) integrated rotational grazing system
6CRS: crabgrass (CRB) integrated rotational grazing system