NEAR-INFRARED REFLECTANCE SPECTROSCOPY (NIRS) FOR PREDICTING FORAGE QUALITY OF PERENNIAL WARM-SEASON GRASSES IN LA PAMPA, ARGENTINA

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between NIRS an d wet chemistry analysis for in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) , crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and lignin. An Inf ra Alyzer 2.5 Plus (Technicon, New York, USA) interphased to a Hewlett Packard 9815A computer was calibrated for IVDMD, CP, NDF and lignin t hrough 6 different wavelengths, all in the near infrared region. A tot al of 75 samples of standing, dead, above-ground biomass of warm-seaso n grasses (Bothriochloa bladii, Digitaria eriantha ssp eriantha, Eragr ostis curvula cvs Don Eduardo and Tanganika and Panicum antidotale) we re analyzed. Correlations coefficients obtained during validation were high for IVDMD (R(2) = 0.827; SE = 1.33) and CP (R(2) = 0.918; SE = 0 .31); medium for lignin (R(2) = 0.593; SE = 0.71) and low for NDF (R(2 ) = 0.285; SE = 2.49).