Effect of fungal endophyte infection on nutritional quality in Festuca arundinacea
Tall feseue (Festuca arundinacea) is an important perennial forage grass whieh is naturally infeeted by the endophytie fungus Neotyphodium coenophialulI1. Alkaloids produeed in infeeted plants are responsible for a set of disorders in grazing animals. lt has been shown that the performance of eattle grazing non-infeeted (E-) tall feseue is superior to that of animals grazing infeeted (E+) plants. The purpose of this work was to determine the intluenee of the endophytie fungus on the protein, neutral detergent fibre (NOF), and aeid detergent fibre (AOF) eontents, and organie matter digestibility (OMO) of tall feseue. An experiment was earried out with E+ and E-tal! feseue plants ("Her-1" eeotype) in a greenhouse, at two different fertil ity treatments. Our results showed that at the high nutrient fertility treatment, NOF content was greater in E-plants (426 g kg-I) than in E+ plants (403 g kg-I) (P<0.05) and the protein conlent was greater in E+ plants (172 g kg-I) than in E-plants (163 g kg-I) (P<O.I). No signifieanl differenees were found in AOF and OMO between endophyle infeeted and non-infeeLcd lall feseue plants. These results suggesl that the nUlritional qualily oC infeeted tall tCseue f'oragc, as indiealed by the parameters erllde protein and NOF, eould be superior to that ofnon-infected planls, given thal toxic alkaloids are not prcsent in the infeetcd plants.
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | capítulo de libro biblioteca |
| Published: |
European Grassland Federation
2000
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| Subjects: | Forage qualily, Neo/yphodium coenophialum, Tall feselle, |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/259011 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100007273 http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100014180 |
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