Changes in herbage chemical composition due to proportion of species in alfalfa‐orchardgrass mixtures

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Abstract
Legumes and grasses are widely grown in mixtures throughout the United States and Canada. This study was conducted to determine the changes in chemical composition of herbage that occur as proportion of legume and grass change in the mixture. Composition of mixtures of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) were studied after their herbage had been mixed by weight into seven different proportions: 100% alfalfa ‐ 0% orchardgrass, 80% ‐ 20%, 65% ‐ 35%, 50% ‐ 50%, 35% ‐ 65%, 20% ‐ 80%, and 0% ‐ 100%, respectively. The forages were grown in rows of pure alfalfa or pure orchardgrass spaced 45 cm apart on fertilized Dodge silt loam (Typic Hapludalf). Alfalfa was at late bud and orchardgrass was a few days from the appearance of the first anthers when harvested on May 29, 1975. Four replications of each of the mixtures were prepared, and the mixtures were made after tissues had been ground to 40‐mesh size. No significant differences among mixtures were found for S, Cu, total nonstructural carbohydrates (TNC), or in vitro digestible dry matter (IVDDM). Concentrations of N, P, Ca, Mg, Na, Al, Ba, Fe, Sr, B, Zn, starch, and acid‐detergent lignin (ADL) were highest in pure alfalfa herbage and significantly decreased in concentration as amount of orchardgrass in the mixture increased. In direct contrast, concentrations of K, Mn, total sugars, fructosan, cell wall constituents (CWC), cellulose, hemicellulose, and acid detergent fiber (ADF) were lowest in pure alfalfa herbage and significantly increased in concentration as amount of orchardgrass in the mixture increased. These data show that an increase in amount of orchardgrass in a mixture with alfalfa reduced the concentrations of most herbage constituents important to animal nutrition and increased the fibrous constituents.