Use of a Prepaid Cellulase Solution for Screening Forage Grass Germplasm for Digestibility
A reliable rapid and inexpensive laboratory procedure is needed to screen native African forage grass species for forage quality. This study determined the potential of using a prepared cellulase solution to assess in vitro dry matter solubility of 22 native Kenyan forage grasses and 18 native warm...
Saved in:
Published in | African crop science journal Vol. 1; no. 2 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , |
Format | Journal Article |
Published |
Uganda
African Crop Science Society
09.03.2009
|
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | A reliable rapid and inexpensive laboratory procedure is needed to
screen native African forage grass species for forage quality. This
study determined the potential of using a prepared cellulase solution
to assess in vitro dry matter solubility of 22 native Kenyan forage
grasses and 18 native warm season grasses from Missouri, USA. A
prepared cellulase solution was used for screening the grass species
for digestibility using two procedures. One procedure involved
digesting grass samples in prepared cellulose solution without any
pre-treatment (CSD), and the other procedure used an acid pepsin
pretreatment prior to digestion in the prepared cellulose solution
(APCS). The CSD procedures in comparison to APCS generally
underestimated in vitro dry matter solubility by a rand of up to 23%.
The variations were highly species dependent. Although the APCS
procedure more time consuming, it made it possible to identify a group
of species resolvable into high (42.6-61.4%), medium (36-40%) and low
(29-34%) digestibility. With intensified efforts it is possible for one
person to obtain in vitro dry matter solubility estimates on up to 200
samples in 30 days with minimal expense. Results of this investigation
points to the end need for further research on the potential of the two
digestibility procedures for rationalizing numbers in germplasm
collection for initial screening. |
---|---|
ISSN: | 1021-9730 2072-6589 |