Impact of multi-species swards on in vitro digestibility and methane production

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the botanical composition of multi-species swards on digestibility and methane production using in vitro analysis. The study was conducted in 2024 based on collected materials from selected plots of experiments established within the LegumeLegacy project in Brody. The following experimental treatments were included in the analysis: two-species mixtures of Lolium perenne (Lp) with Trifolium repens (Tr) and Trifolium pratense (Tp), and three-species mixtures after adding to Lp+Tr and Lp+Tp two herbs Cichorium intybus (Ci) and Plantago lanceolata (Pl) — Lp+Tr+Ci, Lp+Tr+Pl, Lp+Tp+Ci and Lp+Tp+Pl. All treatments were fertilised with nitrogen at the rate of 0 and 50 kg ha−1 per regrowth. The sward samples were collected from three regrowth periods during the vegetation season in 2024. Using the Hohenheim gas test technique, methane (CH4) production and ruminal fermentation characteristics of the sward samples were determined. The study found that no statistical differences were observed for any measured parameter after adding herbs to ryegrass-clover mixtures. The descriptive statistics indicated small numerical variations in total gas and CH4 production showing an effect on reducing the CH4 emissions for grass-clover mixture after adding Ci and Pl. The study also showed that increasing the nitrogen fertilisation of analysed swards reduced methane production and digestibility.