CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL (NIRS) METHODS FOR PREDICTING ORGANIC-MATTER DIGESTIBILITY AND UNDIGESTIBLE CELL-WALL CONTENT OF GREEN FODDER MAIZE

Relationships between, on the one hand, organic matter digestibility ( DMO) or indigestible cell-wall content (NDFI) and, on the other hand, a range of laboratory measurements, have been investigated. These rela tionships were developed in 99 samples of whole maize plant or corresp onding faecal samples. It was found that DMO and NDFI could be more ac curately predicted by near infra-red spectroscopy than by faecal cell- wall content, plant acid detergent lignin or by in vitro methods.