FIBER STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS AND NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF Festulolium CULTIVARS

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the quality and nutritional value of fodder biomass from Festulolium cultivars under the mountainous conditions of Bulgaria. Average over the 2020-2023 period, the hexaploid Festulolium cultivars (Hykor and Felina) produced biomass with higher concentrations of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and acid detergent lignin (ADL) compared to the tetraploid cultivars (Lofa and Perun). The percentage differences in this indicators were 10.3% (NDF), 11.8 (ADF), and 95.3% (ADL), respectively. Changes in the composition of the studied Festulolium cultivars did not significantly affect potential dry matter intake (DMI), but had a significant effect on the relative feeding value (RFV) of the feed. Under mountainous conditions, tetraploid Festulolium cultivars are characterized by 1.09-3.03% higher dry matter digestibility (DDM) compared to hexaploid cultivars.