Leaf morphogenesis influences nutritive-value dynamics of tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum) cultivars of different leaf softness

Abstract

The objective of this study was to compare the dynamics of neutral detergent fibre (NDF), and the 24-h in-vitro digestibility of NDF (NDFD) and dry matter (DMD) in leaf blades of two tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) Darbysh.) cultivars of different leaf softness: a soft- and a tough-leaved cultivar. The experiment was conducted during the summer regrowth of three replicated, dense mini-swards per cultivar arranged in a completely randomised design, all grown under non-limiting water, nitrogen and phosphorus. Cultivars were harvested eight times over 14 weeks to measure morphogenetic traits and nutritive value in six predefined leaf-age categories (from growing to complete senescence). The leaf lifespan and leaf length of the first three successive leaves were measured on 30 marked tillers throughout the experiment. Following analysis of variance, linear regression models were fitted to describe variations of NDF, NDFD and DMD with increasing leaf age and leaf length. Similar leaf NDF contents were found for the two cultivars, which remained stable throughout the leaf lifespan and increased markedly during leaf senescence. Leaf NDFD and leaf DMD both declined with increasing leaf age and length for the two cultivars. However, owing to shorter leaf lifespan of the soft-leaved cultivar, this decline in leaf NDFD and leaf DMD was faster for the soft- than for the tough-leaved cultivar. These results suggest that the soft-leaved cultivar will require more frequent defoliations than the tough-leafed cultivar to prevent decreases in nutritive value.