Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess the joint effect of perennial ryegrass cultivars and drying methods on concentrations of water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) and crude protein (CP) and WSC/CP ratio. AberMagic AR1 and Expo AR1 forage were collected in December 2016, March, June, September and November 2017 and either oven-dried at 60 degrees C for 48 h (OD_60), at 80 degrees C for 16 h (OD_80), frozen at -80 degrees C for 48 h then freeze-dried (-80_FD), or flash-frozen with liquid N then freeze-dried (LN_FD). Data were analyzed by ANOVA in a factorial design with cultivar and drying method as factors. AberMagic AR1 had between 9.0 to 31.5% higher WSC concentration than Expo AR1 in the four samplings. Freeze-drying preserved more WSC than oven-drying treatments (+22.7%), particularly in June. The CP concentration of Expo AR1 was higher only in December (+6.8%), and was 22.9 and 10.9% higher in OD_60 samples compared to LN_FD samples in December and November, respectively. The WSC/CP ratio varied in June, being greater in AberMagic AR1 (+36.1%). Drying method affected WSC/CP ratio in December, June and November where freeze-drying produced greater ratios. Drying techniques generated differences in WSC, CP and WSC/CP ratio, which may affect the accuracy of the estimated impacts of forages on productivity and N use efficiency.