The ruminal degradability of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and hemicellulose (HEM) of elephantgrass (Pennisetum purpureum), forage cactus (Opuntia ficus), pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) and cassava foliage (Manihot esculenta) hays was evaluated using three cannulated crossbred steers, kept on pasture. Samples of four grams of each hay were incubated in the rumen for 0, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 72 hours. The CP potential degradability (PD) for elephantgrass and pigeon pea hays was similar, 83.9 and 81.2%, respectively. Higher values were observed either for forage cactus (94.2%) or cassava foliage (91.7%) hays. The effective degradability (ED) was obtained considering the passage rates of 2, 5 and 8%/hour. The forage cactus hay, at a passage rate of 5%/h, showed the highest ED for DM (60.5%), CP (81.1%), NDF (21.6%), ADF (27.9%) and HEM (58.0%).
cattle; in situ degradation; forage; grass; legume; alternative feed
