Date of Award
8-29-2011
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Agriculture, MSA
First Advisor
Donald Kennedy
Committee Members
Paul Armah; William Humphrey
Call Number
LD251 .A566t 2011 S7
Abstract
The objective of the study was to determine the effect of nitrogen source and harvest date on in vitro true digestible dry matter (IVTDDM) and dry matter yield of switchgrass (SW), gamagrass (EGG) and switchgrass-big bluestem-Illinois bundleflower grass mixture (SWM). Three grass species SW, EGG and SWM were fertilized with an equal amount of nitrogen (67.4 kg N/ha). Treatments were control (no added nitrogen), urea, poultry litter and municipal biosolids. Plots were arranged in four blocks in a completely randomized block design. Samples were collected from each plot at three harvest dates (June, July and August, 2010). Samples were analyzed for IVTDDM and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) by using DaisyII incubator and ANKOM200 fiber analyzer, respectively. In vitro true dry matter digestibility (mean ± SEM) of the grass was higher (P < 0.05) for June (66.7% ± 0.837) samples compared to July (62.2% ± 0.837) and August (54.8% ± 0.837) samples. Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) was lower (P < 0.05) for June (67.7% ± 0.323) samples than July (70.4% ± 0.323) and August (69.7% ± 0.323) samples. Yield (Kg DM/ha) was higher (P < 0.05) for July (12,003 ± 403.66 kg DM/ha) harvest than June (5,980 ± 403.66 kg DM/ha) and August (8,524 ± 403.66 kg DM/ha). Among grass species, EGG (66.09% ± 1.48) was more (P < 0.05) digestible than SW (58.56% ± 1.48) and SWM (61.06% ± 1.48). However, NDF content was higher (P < 0.05) for SW (71.6% ± 0.68) and SWM (71.1% ± 0.68) as compared with EGG (64.9% ± 0.68). In this study, harvest date affected IVTDDM, NDF content, and DM yield but were not affected by nitrogen source.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Siddineni, Venkata Kiran, "Effect Of Nitrogen Source and Harvest Date On In Vitro True Digestible Dry Matter and Yield of Switchgrass, Eastern Gama Grass and Switchgrass Mixture" (2011). Student Theses and Dissertations. 947.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/947
