HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Buxton, D. R. Articles by Mertens, D. R. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Buxton, D. R. Articles by Mertens, D. R. Agricola Articles by Buxton, D. R. Articles by Mertens, D. R.

Errors in Forage-Quality Data Predicted by Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy

USDA-ARS, 1565 Agronomy Hall, Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA 50011

D. R. Mertens

USDA-ARS, U.S. Dairy Forage Res. Ctr., 1925 Linden Drive West, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706

*Corresponding author.

Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) is rapidly being accepted for routine prediction of forage quality and chemical constituents. Accurate predictions require calibration with samples analyzed by reference methods. This study was conducted to determine whether deviations between values predicted by NIRS and those determined by conventional techniques are random. In all, 108 samples from the basal 150 mm of immature and mature stems of replicated, field-grown cultivars of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.), red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.), and orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) were studied. Residuals were obtained from calibration equations developed on all 108 samples. The overall accuracy with which 12 forage-quality and chemical traits were predicted by NIRS was similar to that reported in the literature. When residuals were tested by analyses of variance, significant differences were identified. Significant sources of variation were associated with field replicate, year, entry x year interaction, and cultivars within species. Three traits with the most significant deviations were in vitro true digestibility, acid-detergent fiber, and cellulose, whereas the traits with the least significant deviations were neutral-detergent fiber, hemicellulose, glucose from the cell wall, and vanillin from nitrobenzene oxidation of core lignin. Unless NIRS results are checked for bias in subsets and verified by conventional analyses, erroneous conclusions can be drawn when NIRS is used to predict for management, physiology, and breeding studies.

Received for publication November 9, 1989.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				F. Locher, H. Heuwinkel, R. Gutser, and U. Schmidhalter The Legume Content in Multispecies Mixtures as Estimated with Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy: Method Validation Agron. J., January 1, 2005; 97(1): 18 - 25. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C.E.L. Fonseca, J.L. Hansen, E.M. Thomas, A.N. Pell, and D.R. Viands Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy Prediction and Heritability of Neutral Detergent-Soluble Fiber in Alfalfa Crop Sci., September 1, 1999; 39(5): 1265 - 1270. [Abstract] [Full Text]