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

This Article Figures Only Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (3) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wen, L. Articles by McGraw, R. L. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Wen, L. Articles by McGraw, R. L. Agricola Articles by Wen, L. Articles by McGraw, R. L. Related Collections Other Forage Crops

FORAGE & GRAZING LANDS

Condensed Tannin Concentration of Rhizomatous and Nonrhizomatous Birdsfoot Trefoil in Grazed Mixtures and Monocultures

^a Dep. of Animal Sciences, Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211
^b Dep. of Agronomy, Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211
^c USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Univ. of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211

* Corresponding author (RobertsCr{at}missouri.edu)

Condensed tannins in forage legumes can be beneficial or detrimental to ruminant livestock performance, depending on concentration. The objective of this research was to determine condensed tannin concentration in birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.) without rhizomes (BFT) and with rhizomes (RBFT) from grazed monocultures and mixtures. An additional objective was to investigate possible fluctuation of condensed tannin concentrations through the spring grazing season. In 1997, ‘Norcen’ BFT and ‘ARS-2620’ RBFT were sown into pastures located at Columbia, MO; pastures were pure stands or mixtures with tall fescue (TF; Festuca arundinacea Schreb). Pastures were grazed in 1998 and 1999, and the BFT and RBFT components were hand clipped every 14 d throughout the spring of 1998 and 1999. Samples were analyzed for condensed tannin concentration by near infrared (NIR) reflectance spectroscopy with calibrations based on the vanillin-HCl colorimetric method. Condensed tannin concentrations of grazed BFT were lower in this study than concentrations reported in other studies. Averaged over both years, BFT contained 11.4 g catechin equivalents (CE) kg^-1 DM, and RBFT contained (P < 0.05) three times that amount (38.6 g CE kg^-1 DM). Also, condensed tannin concentrations of the BFT component were 100% higher when BFT was grown in a mixture instead of a pure stand (P < 0.10); in 1999, they were 55% higher (P < 0.05). Finally, condensed tannin concentration fluctuated over the spring of 1998 (P < 0.05), but not the spring of 1999. We concluded that condensed tannins in BFT are much lower than in RBFT, that condensed tannins in BFT decrease when grown with a tall fescue companion grass, and that concentrations can fluctuate in the spring as they do in the autumn.

Abbreviations: BFT, birdsfoot trefoil without rhizomes • RBFT, birdsfoot trefoil with rhizomes • CE, catechin equivalents • DM, dry matter • NIR, near infrared reflectance spectroscopy

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. A. Haring, D. Suter, N. Amrhein, and A. Luscher Biomass Allocation is an Important Determinant of the Tannin Concentration in Growing Plants Ann. Bot., January 1, 2007; 99(1): 111 - 120. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]