A NOTE ON THE SPECIFIC-GRAVITY OF SUGAR-CANE FORAGE

Six dry and rumen cannulated cows were used in a Latin square design r eplicated in a factorial arrangement to study the performance of the f unctional specific gravity (FSG) of the sugar cane forage. The in situ bag method was used. Treatments consisted of supplying 2, 3 and 4 kg of a nitrogen supplement to a sugar cane based ration. Incubation peri ods were 2, 4 and 6 hr. There were no differences between treatments ( 1.07-1.12 g/ml) nor in the sampling schedule for the FSG. Results indi cate that the inclusion levels studied have no effect on the functiona l specific gravity of the sugar cane forage particles and that in view of the high loss of soluble compounds a longer period may be required to increase this indicator, which suggests the need to continue studi es.