The Use of NIR in Predicting Nutritive Value of Mediterranean Tree and Shrub Foliage

1993 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Meuret ◽  
P. Dardenne ◽  
R. Biston ◽  
O. Poty

To upgrade grazing management recommendations in the Mediterranean area, one needs to assess the nutritive value of woody foliages including their changes over time and with location. Using a wide range of native and cultivated foliages, our objective was to evaluate the potential of near infrared (NIR) reflectance spectroscopy to determine foliage chemistry and in vitro digestibility for ruminants. The samples, representative of small ruminant eating bites, were divided into the different plant parts. Samples were carefully conditioned, being air-dried at 60°C; drying times were individually varied to ensure complete dehydration without excessive heating. Samples were analysed for organic matter (OM), nitrogen (N), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL) and in vitro digestibility with a pepsin–cellulase method developed for forages (IVDMD). NIR scans were made with an NIRSystems 5000 instrument and data analysis was performed using ISI software. Partial least squares (PLS) regression equations were developed for IVDMD and each constituent. Nine mathematical treatments, with and without scatter correction, were compared. The database of woody foliage spectra and a reference fodder database were compared in two ways: the first involved a comparison of the spectral variation in each collection while the second measured the Mahalanobis distance of each spectrum in one database from the average spectrum in the other. In the case of N, a broad-based calibration was compared with others derived from various sample sub-sets; these latter were formed either according to sample type or following a proximity analysis of five spectral groups by principal component analysis. NIR predictions of IVDMD were applied to describe the effect of phenological changes in the edible parts of Quercus pubescens Willd. The foliage base is very heterogeneous and wider than the reference fodder base. The fodder base variation does not include the foliage samples. The lowest standard errors of calibration (SEC) and cross-validation (SECV) are comparable to literature results on forest leaves, but better for lignin (SECV of 1.5 compared to SEC values of 2.5–2.9). SECV for IVDMD is satisfactory at almost 2.0 because this value is similar to precision data normally reported for in vitro digestibility estimations on narrower sample sets than the current one. The broad-based calibration for N gave similar or lower standard errors to those obtained using sample sub-sets. One can show that IVDMD values for Quercus pubescens leaves decrease from 65 to 15% with increasing maturity; leaf IVDMD values are approximately 15% higher than the previous year's stem value from May until October. NIR spectroscopy appears to be an adequate technique for the prediction of the nutritive value of Mediterranean foliages from trees and shrubs, with a reliability similar to that obtained from classical fodder analysis procedures. This study shows that broad-based calibrations with PLS regression could be made on extremely diverse sets of data (IVDMD ranging from 28 to 94%), grouping distinct edible plant parts within the same data base.

1988 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
AM Holm ◽  
RJ Allen

This study was undertaken to assess whether the nutritional quality of spinifex pasture lands is improved by buming to promote the growth of grasses other than spinifex. We selected two comparable sites in the Exmouth Gulf region of Western Australia; one had been bumt in late 1979 and the other had not been burnt for many years. On these sites we sampled the five grass species present, as well as Triodia pungens (soft spinifex) and Plectrachne >chinzii (Oat eared spinifex) on 10 occasions from March 1980 to April 1982. Plant parts were analysed for nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur content, and in vitro digestibility. None of the common grass species tested was more nutritious or more palatable than soft spinifex. It seems that little is gained from manipulating spinifex pastures through burning if the aim is to encourage alternative grass species. There is a need however for further studies into the importance of woody herbs and forbs in the nutrition of grazing animals on spinifex country and the effect of fire on these species.


1982 ◽  
Vol 22 (119) ◽  
pp. 391
Author(s):  
CJ Gardener ◽  
RG Megarrity ◽  
MN McLeod

The distribution of dry matter between leaves, stems and inflorescences, and the nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur concentration and in vitro digestibility of these parts were measured in uncut swards of nine accessions of seven Stylosanthes spp. grown in northern Queensland over 22 months. Despite above average rainfall in both dry seasons, which greatly reduced the normal moisture stress, only S. guianensis cv. Oxley retained a significant proportion of green leaf in the winter period. However, Oxley set little seed in either year. Plants of the three short-lived species S. hamata, S. humilis and S. subsericea died back to the crown at the end of each wet season, while adult plants of the strongly perennial shrubs S. viscosa, S. scabra and S. fruticosa shed most of their leaves by July. All accessions flowered in both years, and all, except Oxley, set a heavy seed crop by the second year. Some inflorescence was retained on the living stems of the perennial lines until October. This inflorescence had a nutritive value only just below that of young leaf, while the mature stem was low in nitrogen and digestibility in all accessions. The leaf and stem litter had a similar chemical composition to standing material but rapidly became mouldy. The two cultivars of S. humilis, Paterson and Gordon, and S. subsericea had significantly higher levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur and digestibility than the other accessions. S. viscosa had significantly lower levels of all four attributes. The utilization of the various accessions for improving cattle nutrition is discussed.


1982 ◽  
Vol 22 (119) ◽  
pp. 391 ◽  
Author(s):  
CJ Gardener ◽  
RG Megarrity ◽  
MN McLeod

The distribution of dry matter between leaves, stems and inflorescences, and the nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur concentration and in vitro digestibility of these parts were measured in uncut swards of nine accessions of seven Stylosanthes spp. grown in northern Queensland over 22 months. Despite above average rainfall in both dry seasons, which greatly reduced the normal moisture stress, only S. guianensis cv. Oxley retained a significant proportion of green leaf in the winter period. However, Oxley set little seed in either year. Plants of the three short-lived species S. hamata, S. humilis and S. subsericea died back to the crown at the end of each wet season, while adult plants of the strongly perennial shrubs S. viscosa, S. scabra and S. fruticosa shed most of their leaves by July. All accessions flowered in both years, and all, except Oxley, set a heavy seed crop by the second year. Some inflorescence was retained on the living stems of the perennial lines until October. This inflorescence had a nutritive value only just below that of young leaf, while the mature stem was low in nitrogen and digestibility in all accessions. The leaf and stem litter had a similar chemical composition to standing material but rapidly became mouldy. The two cultivars of S. humilis, Paterson and Gordon, and S. subsericea had significantly higher levels of nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur and digestibility than the other accessions. S. viscosa had significantly lower levels of all four attributes. The utilization of the various accessions for improving cattle nutrition is discussed.


1978 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 89 ◽  
Author(s):  
EA Chacon ◽  
TH Stobbs ◽  
MB Dale

Relationships between sward characteristics, grazing behaviour and growth of Hereford steers were studied on nitrogen-fertilized (378 kg ha-1 yr-1) Setaria anceps cv. Nandi and Digitaria decumbens swards continuously stocked at 4.3, 6.2 and 8.0 beasts ha-1 during five periods over 2 years. Availability of herbage, as measured by bite size, and nitrogen content and in vitro digestibility of herbage in the top of the swards were the two most important factors influencing the performance of steers. The relative importance of these factors varied between seasons, between stocking rate treatments and to a lesser extent between pasture species. The highest growth rates were measured on the leniently stocked pastures because steers were able to harvest feed easily (a large bite size) and could more readily select the more nutritious plant parts from the top of the sward. The swards were highly heterogeneous, and numerical analysis of data showed that at the same herbage yield, spatial distribution of herbage (leaf bulk density and leaf to stem ratio) and the nutritive value (in vitro digestibility and nitrogen content) of herbage greatly influenced the growth of steers. Cattle were unable to satisfy their feed requirements on some high quality but low-yielding swards, despite increasing grazing time to compensate for the small bites prehended (up to 707 min in 24 hr in spring). Consequently nitrogen and digestibility contents of extrusa samples were at times poor indicators of performance.


1984 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 551 ◽  
Author(s):  
PA Kenney ◽  
JL Black

In experiment 1, potential intake rates of several dried forages, varying widely in nutritive value, were measured by offering each alone to six hungry sheep for eight, separate 1-min periods. Intake rates ranged from 5.5 to 26.1 g/min, but, within each forage, it varied little between sheep (c.v. 13%) or between measurements with the same sheep (c.v. 8%). The forages were then offered in pairs in separate containers and preference for one forage was defined as the percentage of total intake derived from that forage. With the exception of a dried clover pasture, preference for a forage was strongly related to the rate at which it could be eaten. Reducing the length of wheaten straw particles from 30 to 10 mm increased intake rate from 5.5 to 12.4 g/min and resulted in an absolute preference for the short material. The mean preference for a forage over all comparisons was more strongly correlated with intake rate of the forage (r2 = 0.87) than with in vitro digestibility of organic matter (r2 = 0.30). In experiment 2, two wheaten straws and two wheaten hays were each chopped to two lengths and, within each forage, mixed (w/w) in the short : long ratios of 0 : 1, 1 : 2, 2 : 1 and 1 : 0. Mean intake rates were 7.3 and 12.5 g/min for the two straws and 15.7 and 23.2 g/min for the two hays. Within each forage, all mixtures were offered in pairs to establish preference. The slopes of regression equations relating preference (%) to intake rate (g/min) were 21.4, 17.0, 5.9 and 2.7 (%.min/g) for the four forages as mean intake rate increased from 7.3 to 23 2 g/min, which indicates that discrimination between forages with the same difference in intake rate was greater when mean intake rate was low. In experiment 3, finely ground clover pasture, lucerne hay, wheaten hay or wheaten straw were added to a base diet of either chopped lucerne or wheaten straw in the ratio 1 : 10. Although the additive had little effect on intake rate, sheep preferred lucerne to clover pasture and wheaten hay to wheaten straw. Equations developed from the results of experiment 2 to predict the preference for one forage over another on the basis of their relative intake rates, showed fair agreement with observations from experiment 1, particularly when the effects of acceptability factors such as taste, odour or feel were translated into differences in potential intake rate.


2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 255 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.C. De Blas ◽  
C.A. Rodriguez ◽  
F. Bacha ◽  
R. Fernandez ◽  
R. Abad-Guamán

<p>Olive cake is one of the main agro-industrial co-products in the Mediterranean area of Spain, with high availability almost all year round. In addition, most of the product is dehydrated, which increases its interest in monogastric species such as rabbits. Nineteen samples from various Spanish oil mills using different processing methods were analysed for their chemical composition and in vitro digestibility. The average composition was [in dry matter (DM) basis]: ash (9.64%), neutral detergent fibre (52.0%), acid detergent fibre (36.8%), acid detergent lignin (19.1%), crude protein (CP) (11.3%), insoluble neutral (8.0%) and acid detergent crude protein (5.15%), ether extract (10.9%) and gross energy (21.9 MJ/kg). DM and CP in vitro digestibility were, on av., 53.4 and 41.4% respectively. High variability was observed among the samples for most of the traits studied. Fibrous fractions were highly correlated among them and negatively with ether extract content, whereas CP was little related to other feed components. A stepwise regression analysis allowed us to determine regression equations to predict DM and CP in vitro digestibilities from chemical composition (R2=0.80 and 0.91, respectively). As regards the current results, olive cake has potential use for rabbits as a source of insoluble fibre and lignin. Crude samples (not oil extracted) combined with sieving to retain the smaller particles have an additional interest, because of their higher energy value and significant supply of high quality fat.</p>


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1441
Author(s):  
Youssef Chebli ◽  
Samira El Otmani ◽  
Mouad Chentouf ◽  
Jean-Luc Hornick ◽  
Jean-François Cabaraux

Forest rangelands contribute largely to goat diets in the Mediterranean area. Information about browsed plant quality is essential for adequate feeding management. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the temporal changes in chemical composition and in vitro digestibility of the main plant species selected by goats in the Southern Mediterranean forest rangeland during two consecutive years; these were very contrasted (dry and wet). The browsed species were composed of herbaceous, eleven shrubs, and four tree species. Overall, large variability in chemical composition, in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD), and metabolizable energy (ME) was observed among species, grazing season (spring, summer, and autumn), and years within each species. Crude protein (CP) content varied from 60 to 240 g/kg dry matter (DM). The fiber fractions, except for Quercus suber, increased significantly by advancing maturity. Due to the water stress, the lignin level presented a higher value during the spring of the dry year. Condensed tannin (CT) content varied from 2 to 184 g/kg DM. CP, IVOMD, and ME showed a negative correlation with lignin and CT. Based on the results presented herein, it is concluded that the nutritive value of the browsed plant species was highest in the spring and lowest during the summer and autumn of both studied years. With a good grazing management strategy, the selected plant species by goats could guarantee high-quality feeding resources throughout the year.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chatchai Kaewpila ◽  
Pongsatorn Gunun ◽  
Piyawit Kesorn ◽  
Sayan Subepang ◽  
Suwit Thip-uten ◽  
...  

AbstractImproving the nutrition of livestock is an important aspect of global food production sustainability. This study verified whether lactic acid bacteria (LAB) inoculant could promote ensiling characteristics, nutritive value, and in vitro enteric methane (CH4) mitigation of forage sorghum (FS) mixture silage in attacking malnutrition in Zebu beef cattle. The FS at the soft dough stage, Cavalcade hay (CH), and cassava chip (CC) were obtained. The treatments were designed as a 4 × 2 factorial arrangement in a completely randomized design. Factor A was FS prepared without or with CH, CC, and CH + CC. Factor B was untreated or treated with Lactobacillus casei TH14. The results showed that all FS mixture silages preserved well with lower pH values below 4.0 and higher lactic acid contents above 56.4 g/kg dry matter (DM). Adding LAB boosted the lactic acid content of silages. After 24 h and 48 h of in vitro rumen incubation, the CC-treated silage increased in vitro DM digestibility (IVDMD) with increased total gas production and CH4 production. The LAB-treated silage increased IVDMD but decreased CH4 production. Thus, the addition of L. casei TH14 inoculant could improve lactic acid fermentation, in vitro digestibility, and CH4 mitigation in the FS mixture silages.


Sensors ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 658
Author(s):  
Matthew F. Digman ◽  
Jerry H. Cherney ◽  
Debbie J. R. Cherney

Advanced manufacturing techniques have enabled low-cost, on-chip spectrometers. Little research exists, however, on their performance relative to the state of technology systems. The present study compares the utility of a benchtop FOSS NIRSystems 6500 (FOSS) to a handheld NeoSpectra-Scanner (NEO) to develop models that predict the composition of dried and ground grass, and alfalfa forages. Mixed-species prediction models were developed for several forage constituents, and performance was assessed using an independent dataset. Prediction models developed with spectra from the FOSS instrument had a standard error of prediction (SEP, % DM) of 1.4, 1.8, 3.3, 1.0, 0.42, and 1.3, for neutral detergent fiber (NDF), true in vitro digestibility (IVTD), neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD), acid detergent fiber (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), and crude protein (CP), respectively. The R2P for these models ranged from 0.90 to 0.97. Models developed with the NEO resulted in an average increase in SEP of 0.14 and an average decrease in R2P of 0.002.


Author(s):  
Ali Ameen Saeed ◽  
Saja Intisar Abid

This study was conducted in Nutrition Lab. to investigate the effect of the type and level of substitution of urea with ruminant manure, M (sheep, cow and buffalo) on basis of nitrogen (N) content on the nutritive value of rice straw silage (RSS). Accordingly silages were nominated as, S-RSS, C-RSS and B-RSS. Urea (U) was substituted with dried manure at 6 combinations, 100:0, 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40 and 50:50 of U:M. Silage samples were prepared by treating chopped straw with pre-treated solution contained 10% low quality debis and 2% urea. Results showed that lower (P˂0.01) DM loss (11.4%) was observed in S-RSS, and with addition of urea only (3.6%).        Samples of S-RSS and C-RSS recorded higher (P˂0.01) Fleig points (Fp) as compared with those prepared by the addition of B-RSS, 60.42, 55.58 and 49.59 respectively. Reduction (P˂0.01) in this parameter was noticed in samples prepared with a combination of 100:0. Aerobic stability (AS) was a reduced (P˂0.01) in samples prepared by addition of S-RSS by 15 and 13 hours in comparison with samples of C-RSS and B-RSS respectively. Samples prepared with combination of 100:0 were prior (P˂0.01) as compared with other samples.        Results also showed an increase (P˂0.01) in in vitro digestibility of organic matter (IVOMD) in samples of S-RSS in comparison with samples prepared by addition of C-RSS and B-RSS, 49.99, 44.59 and 42.77% respectively. Samples prepared with combination of 100:0 recorded lower (P˂0.05) in vitro digestibility of dry matter (IVDMD) as compared with combinations of 70:30 and 60:40 of U: M, 40.52, 45.36 and 45.94% respectively.


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