Leaf growth dynamics and forage quality in temperate and tropical grasses

摘要

In grasses, maximum leaf‐blade size is achieved at ligulae appearance.However, cell wall (CW) accumulation, as well as the occurrence of changes in CW chemical and structural features continues during leaf aging.Such ontogenic changes in forage quality are currently described by the increase of indigestible NDF (INDF).At present, many studies are focused on the INDF kinetics during leaf development with modeling purposes.The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro kinetic of INDF accumulation in individual leaves along their development in three species differing in their potential leaf length and photosynthetic path-way.