http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3 http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-3-2.xsd
Nutritive value of kleingrass (Panicum coloratum L.) as influenced by varieties, stages of maturity, and fertility levels
Thirteen experimental synthetic varieties of kleingrass were compared and evaluated on the basis of their chemical composition. The experimental varieties, harvested at five stages of maturity, were fractioned into cellular (NDE) and cell wall contents (NDF). The neutral-detergent insoluble fraction was sequentially partitioned, on a solubility basis, into hemicelluloses, cellulose, lignin, and ash. A fertility study, which included three stages of maturity, was conducted with a single variety of kleingrass to determine the influence of fertilizer treatments on total NDF and NDF constituents. Chemical analyses were made on leaf lamina and stem sections which were separated at each harvest of both the variety investigation and fertility trial. Leaf: stem ratios were then used to calculate the chemical makeup of a whole plant. Three varieties of kleingrass were harvested at four stages of maturity and used in both in vivo and in vitro digestibility trials. Data from both digestibility trials were correlated with percent NDF, NDF constituents, and various ratios of NDF constituents. Percent NDF and NDF constituents varied significantly between experimental varieties. Varieties which were consistently high in fibrous materials, were genetically closely related. In kleingrass, leaf lamina were higher in percent hemicellulose and ash than stem sections which were higher in percent cellulose and lignin. Stem: leaf ratios which ranged from 1:1 to 4:1 in experimental varieties of kleingrass showed that stem portions were the dominant factor influencing fibrous material of the whole plant..
Ph. D. in Agronomy Texas A & M University