Composition and in vitro digestibility of leaves and stems of grasses and legumes harvested from permanent mountain meadows at different stages of maturity

Chemical composition and in vitro digestibility were determined in stems an d leaves hand-separated from grasses and legumes obtained from the first an d subsequent cuts of a permanent meadow. Grasses from the first cut were cl assified in four groups according to their stage of maturity: vegetative, b oot, head-bloom and seed stage. Crude protein (CP) content was higher and n eutral detergent fibre (NDF) content lower in legumes than in grasses, and in leaves than in stems. CP decreased and NDF increased with maturity in gr asses. In general, legumes were more digestible than grasses. The digestibi lity of grasses harvested in the first cut decreased with increasing maturi ty. Leaves were more digestible than stems in legumes and grasses, although the relative difference between botanical parts was much larger in grasses than in legumes. The differences in digestibility between leaves and stems became more pronounced with increasing maturity, especially in terms of ce ll wall digestibility. As for forage quality, early cutting of permanent me adows would be recommended, so that grasses are harvested before they reach an advanced stage of maturity.