The Effect of Nitrogen Fertilization on the Nutritive Value of Orchardgrass Hay

A digestion trial was carried out using four yearling wether sheep. A 4 × 4 latin-square design was followed. Orchardgrass hays, that had been grown with 100, 200, and 400 lb. of nitrogen per acre were compared with a standard alfalfa hay. Digestible energy was also determined. The apparent digestibility of the crude protein in the orchardgrass hays was significantly lower than that of alfalfa hay. Crude fiber digestibility for the orchardgrass hays was much higher than for the alfalfa. This difference was highly significant. No significant variation in the digestibility of the energy, ether extract, and nitrogen-free extract components was observed. The TDN and digestible energy values of the three orchardgrass hays were considerably higher than the values found for the alfalfa hay.