Active CRIS Projects:

3655-41000-03-06R Richard Koegel

EFFECTS OF CRUSHING AND CUTTING TIME ON DRYING RATES AND NUTRITIONAL VALUE

Objectives: To compare, in vitro and by means of near infared spectroscopy (NIRS), the digestibility of control and severely conditioned alfalfa, as affected by maturity, climate, and number of cutting.

Approach: Paired samples of alfalfa (a control and one severely conditioned) will be cut, conditioned, dried, and stored for later study. A conductivity index will be determined for samples at the time of conditioning. Variables will include crop maturity, number of cutting (first, second, etc.), what season and what climate (California vs. Wisconsin). In vitro digestibilities will be run on samples to determine changes due to conditioning and other variables. We will assess the sensitivity of NIRS to conditioning and digestibility changes in the samples.