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NOTES & UNIQUE PHENOMENA

PREDICTION OF LEAF/STEM RATIO USING NEAR-INFRARED REFLECTANCE SPECTROSCOPY (NIRS)

A TECHNICAL NOTE

^a Dep. of Anim. and Range Sci., South Dakota State Univ., Box 2170, Brookings, SD 57007-0392
^b Dep. of Agron. and Hortic., Univ. of Nebraska–Lincoln, 279 Plant Science, P.O. Box 830915, Lincoln, NE 68583
^c Dep. of Agron. and Hortic., Univ. of Nebraska–Lincoln, West Central Res. and Ext. Cent., 461 West University Drive, North Platte, NE 69101

^* Corresponding author (Alexander_Smart{at}sdstate.edu).

Received for publication March 28, 2003. Leaf/stem ratio of grass stands is an important factor affecting diet selection, quality, and forage intake. Determination of leaf/stem ratio involves a labor-intensive process of hand separating leaf and stem fractions. Our objectives in this study were to evaluate leaf/stem ratio prediction using near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) in monocultures of big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), intermediate wheatgrass [Thinopyrum intermedian (Host) Barkw. & D.R. Dewey], and smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.). Samples of each species were hand-clipped from monocultures at four locations throughout Nebraska in the 1997 and 1998 growing seasons. Ground samples were scanned by a Perstorp model 6500 near-infrared scanning monochromator. Calibration equations were developed using CENTER and SELECT procedures. Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy estimated leaf/stem ratio in monocultures of big bluestem, switchgrass, intermediate wheatgrass, and smooth bromegrass with a coefficient of determination (r²) of 0.73, 0.96, 0.75, and 0.84, respectively. Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy was a rapid means of estimating leaf/stem ratio in these grasses.

Abbreviations: NIRS, near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy • SEC, standard error of calibration

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