The intake and performance of cattle grazing irrigated pastures. 1. Estimation of the digestibility of the pasture

Abstract

Faecal nitrogen-digestibility relationships were estimated for steers fed different fractions of an ungrazed irrigated pasture cut at two heights. The regressions of the fractions were then compared to that of the whole pasture. No significant differences were detected between the regressions of digestibility on log faecal nitrogen concentration, nor were there significant within-period regressions for the pooled treatments. On this basis it was suggested a single-sward regression would provide suitable predictions of digestibility of an irrigated pasture being grazed at different heights.