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Alfalfa Stem Tissues

Cell Wall Deposition, Composition, and Degradability

^a USDA-ARS Plant Science Res. Unit and U.S. Dairy Forage Res. Center Cluster, Dep. of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, 411 Borlaug Hall, 1991 Upper Buford Circle, Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108
^b Dep. of Plant Sciences, P.O. Box 341, Wageningen Univ., Wageningen, The Netherlands

View larger version (23K): [in a new window]   Fig. 1. Mean shoot length and number of stem internodes of three alfalfa clones harvested at different stages of maturity. Bars represent one standard error of the mean. Absence of error bars indicates that the standard error interval was smaller than the size of the data symbol.

View larger version (22K): [in a new window]   Fig. 2. Mean length and diameter (lines) of Internode 7 from three alfalfa clones harvested at different stages of maturity. Bars represent one standard error of the mean. Absence of error bars indicates that the standard error interval was smaller than the size of the data symbol.

View larger version (17K): [in a new window]   Fig. 3. Xylem tissue of Internode 7, as a percent of cross-sectional diameter, for three alfalfa clones harvested at different stages of maturity. Bars represent one standard error of the mean. Absence of error bars indicates that the standard error interval was smaller than the size of the data symbol.

View larger version (22K): [in a new window]   Fig. 4. Mean weight and cell wall concentration of Internode 7 for three alfalfa clones harvested at different stages of maturity. Bars represent one standard error of the mean. Absence of error bars indicates that the standard error interval was smaller than the size of the data symbol. OM = organic matter.

View larger version (75K): [in a new window]   Fig. 5. Micrographs of alfalfa stem cross sections from Internode 7 showing anatomical development during internode maturation from Sampling Dates 1 through 5 (a through e) and corresponding residues remaining after 48-h in vitro degradation by rumen microbes (f through j). For each maturity stage, the control and degraded micrograph pairs are from serial sections taken from the same alfalfa shoot. Bar = 100 µm, c = cambium, ch = chlorenchyma, co = collenchyma, cl = waxy cuticle, e = epidermis, pp = primary phloem, pf = phloem fiber, pi = pith parenchyma, pxv = primary xylem vessels, xf = xylem fiber, sxv = secondary xylem vessels, x = xylem.

View larger version (18K): [in a new window]   Fig. 6. Mean cellulose (cell), hemicellulose (hemi), and pectin concentrations in the cell walls of Internode 7 of three alfalfa clones harvested at different stages of maturity. Bars represent one standard error of the mean. Absence of error bars indicates that the standard error interval was smaller than the size of the data symbol. CW = cell wall.

View larger version (24K): [in a new window]   Fig. 7. Mean Klason lignin concentration of the cell wall and lignin composition (syringyl:guaiacyl ratio) of Internode 7 of three alfalfa clones harvested at different stages of maturity. Bars represent one standard error of the mean. Absence of error bars indicates that the standard error interval was smaller than the size of the data symbol. CW = cell wall.

View larger version (21K): [in a new window]   Fig. 8. Mean 12- and 96-h in vitro degradabilities of cellulose (cell), hemicellulose (hemi), and pectin (a and b, respectively) and total cell wall polysaccharide degradability of three alfalfa clones (c and d, respectively) from Internode 7 harvested at different stages of maturity after fermentation with rumen microorganisms. Bars represent one standard error of the mean. Absence of error bars indicates that the standard error interval was smaller than the size of the data symbol.