THE USE OF THE IN VITRO TECHNIQUE IN THE DETERMINATION OF THE DIGESTIBILITY OF GRASS/LEGUME MIXTURES

The in vitro dry-matter digestibility was determined of two samples of Digitaria decumbens , one sample of Medicago sativa , and one sample of Trifolium repens and nine mixtures prepared from these samples.
When the results were compared with in vivo digestibilities the standard errors of the regressions for the three combinations of legume, grass and legume/grass mixtures were ±0.6, ±0.6 and ±1.5 percentage units, respectively.
It is considered that in vivo digestibility of mixtures of grasses and legumes can be estimated by the in vitro technique, provided that suitable grass and legume standards are included.