ANIMAL PREFERENCE IN RELATION TO THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND DIGESTIBILITY OF VARIETIES OF COCKSFOOT

Assessments of animal preference (measured as mean % herbage removed) were made on varieties of cocksfoot in Yorkshire and in Scotland, and parallel chemical analyses were carried out. A similar range of varieties were examined at progressive stages of spring growth at Cambridge. In vitro digestibility tests were made also. In the Yorkshire trials, a significant positive relationship was established between soluble carbohydrates and animal preference and a negative correlation between fibre and animal preference. In Scotland, the relationship between soluble carbohydrate and animal preference was less pronounced. Animal preference in the spring was for the early varieties which have thick and succulent stems up to the stage of ear emergence. In the aftermath animal preferences were less marked.
In trials at Cambridge, the early varieties, notably Scotia, were higher than the late varieties both in digestibility and in soluble carbohydrates. This tendency was also present in Scotland but was less pronounced.