Harvest regimen changes sericea lespedeza condensed tannin, fiber and protein concentrations

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-1-2018

Abstract

© 2017 Japanese Society of Grassland Science Sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata [Dumont de Courset] G. Don.; SL) is a perennial, warm-season legume containing condensed tannins (CT) that can play important roles in ruminant ecosystems. Our research objective was to determine season-long average herbage CT fractions, crude protein (CP) and fiber concentrations under three harvest regimens for SL cv. AU Grazer at five locations within the southeastern USA during 2010. Harvest regimens were regrowth every 35 days (35-day), previously uncut plots every 35 days (ACCUM), or regrowth when height reached 40 cm (40 cm). We found harvest regimen by location interactions (P ≤ 0.05) for all dependent variables. The ACCUM plants usually had greater (P ≤ 0.05) fiber concentrations where there were differences, except for the Louisiana location. The lowest (114 g kg−1; P ≤ 0.05) CP concentrations were measured in ACCUM plants at the driest location (Texas) while the highest (181 g kg−1 for North Carolina plants) came from the 35-day regimen. Total CT (TCT) concentration varied (P ≤ 0.05) from a low of 61.1 g kg−1 for ACCUM plants in Louisiana to 100.7 g kg−1 for Texas plants harvested from 35-day plots. In summary, harvest regimen influenced SL nutrient and CT concentrations. Fiber concentration was better correlated (−0.621 for acid detergent fiber; P ≤ 0.05) with TCT than CP (−0.014; P = 0.82). Sericea lespedeza regrowth harvested every 35 days had higher season-long average TCT concentrations in two of five locations along with greater CP and less fiber concentrations in four of five locations compared to the ACCUM regimen.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Grassland Science

First Page

137

Last Page

144

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