Analysis of Correlation between Nutrient Content, Digestibility, and Gas Production of Forages in Indonesia

Forage encompasses a diverse range of plants, each possessing its own characteristic physical and biological traits that contribute to its individual ability to adapt, grow, and produce. While some generalizations can be made, it is vital to recognize the quality differences between various plant species and even different cultivated varieties. This study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between nutrient content, digestibility, and gas production of several forages in Indonesia that could help to develop prediction equations about feed digestibility and gas production to these forages. Parameters measured in this study were crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), lignin, fat, minerals, dry matter digestibility with pepsine (DMdPeps), organic matter digestibility with pepsine (OMdPeps), nitrogen digestibility with pepsin (NdPepsin), gas production. The results showed that CP, NDF, and ADF had the highest variability among the nutrients. A total of 27 significant (p<0.05) among nutrient content, digestibility, and gas production were determined in this study. The most significant correlations were between OMdPeps and NdPepsin, CP and NdPepsin, OMdPeps and CP, CP and Fat, CP and Ca, OMdPeps and Fat, DMdPeps-Fat with the highest R (0.853 to 0.985) and R2 (0.728 to 0.970). In conclusion, there were significant correlations among different components in forage that could provide essential information to research scientists and farmers.