| Abstract: | Red clover was harvested at five different stages of maturity during primary growth and separated into leaves, petioles, stems and flowers. The contents of extractives, crude protein, starch, non-starch polysaccharides, and non-starch polysaccharide constituents, and the in vitro degradability, were determined in the botanical fractions. Chemical analysis of the in vitro residues revealed that the degradability of crude protein was around 80% in all fractions at all harvest times whereas in most cases the degradability of non-starch polysaccharides and non-starch polysaccharide residues was highest in the leaf fractions, intermediate in the petiole fractions and lowest in the stem fractions, with only small changes occurring due to development and maturation during the investigated period. Glucose and xylose were the least degraded non-starch polysaccharide residues in all fractions. |
