Associative effects between plant species on intake and digestive efficiency in sheep
2014
Niderkorn, Vincent | Martin, Cécile | Baumont, René
There is evidence that multispecies swards can increase biomass productivity and provide number of ecosystem benefits. However, little is known regarding the possible interactions between forage species that can modulate positively or negatively the use of nutrients by ruminants. The objective of this study was to provide a better understanding of the associative effects between some forage species on intake and digestion parameters. Three sheep feeding experiments were conducted according to a repeated Latin square design using models of simple forage mixtures under the form of fresh forage or silage, and during which intake behaviour, DM digestibility, and methane emissions were measured. Synergies between cocksfoot silage and red clover silage, and between ryegrass and chicory, were observed on DM intake and eating rate, with optimums for the proportion 50:50. For the cocksfoot-red clover association, the synergy was also observed on daily intake of the digestible fraction that can reflect animal performances. No associative effect was observed on methane yield and the lowest emissions were observed for pure red clover and pure chicory
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