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Digestibility of Forages In Vitro as Affected by Content of "Silica"^{1, 2,}

New Mexico State University, Las Cruces 88001

Abstract

Digestibility of organic matter was assayed in 76 samples of forage representing eight species of plants samples at various stages of growth and maturity, through fermentation by rumen microorganisms cultured in vitro. Digestibility of organic matter was related to forage content of chemical constituents (nitrogen, ash, ether extract, cell-wall constituents, acid-detergent fiber, acid-detergent lignin and crude silica) in multiple linear regression equations. Stepwise regression analysis showed that digestibility of organic matter in the samples is predicted most accurately by an equation which considers only cell-wall constituents (CWC), acid-detergent lignin (ADL), silica and ether extract (EE): IVOMD=155.3–1.09 (%CWC)–2.74 (%ADL)–0.98 (% silica)–1.89 (%EE). The relationships indicate that silica decreases the digestibility of organic matter by approximately 1% for each percentage increase in the silica content of the forage.

¹ Published with the approval of the Director of the New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station as Journal Article No. 365.

² The data are taken from a thesis submitted by Eloy J. A. Boggino in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the M.S. degree at New Mexico State University while a participant in the USAID Study Program. The authors acknowledge the assistance of Dr. V. H. Gledhill in the statistical procedures and of Mr. Ed Smith in the chemical analyses.

³ Associate Professor and Professor, respectively, Department of Animal, Range and Wildlife Sciences, New Mexico State University.

⁴ Present address: Peru 261, Asuncion, Paraguay, South America.

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