Determination of grass quality characteristics in some Lathyrus genotypes growing in meadow-pasture and natural vegetations of Southeast Anatolia Region

In this study, scientific methods and techniques were applied to determine the quality and yield characteristics of Lathyrus genotypes collected from natural grassland pasture areas in the Southeast Anatolia Region. A total of 27 Lathyrus genotypes were reached as a result of the examination of plants collected from natural pasture areas previously identified with coordinates in Diyarbakir, Batman, Mardin, Adiyaman, Gaziantep, Kilis, and Sirnak provinces. Grass samples taken from each genotype were dried in a laboratory environment, ground and analyzed in NIRS (Near Infrared Spectroscopy) device in 3 replicates and some quality characteristics were determined accordingly. According to the analysis and calculations, the following data were obtained for Lathyrus genotypes: crude protein (CP) %17,55-30,28; acid detergent fiber (ADF) %15.41-28.18; neutral detergent fiber (NDF) %31.79-50.80; acid detergent insoluble protein (ADP) %0.24-0.80; dry matter (DM) %90.54-93.29; digestible dry matter (DDM) %66.94-76.90; dry matter intake (DMI) %2.36-3.78; relative feed value (RFV) 139.52-217.49; total digestible nutrient (TDN) %74.39-84.35; relative feed quality (RFQ) %140.49-229.59; digestible energy (DE) 3.14-3.56; metabolizable energy (ME) 2.57-2.92; potassium (K) %1.91-3.93; calcium (Ca) %1.45-2.02; magnesium (Mg) %0.09-0.43; phosphorus (P) %0.40-0.56; calcium/phosphorus (Ca/P) 2.66-4.90; K/(Ca+Mg) 0.245-0.092. Among the examined traits, Lathyrus cicera genotypes number 16 and 12 in terms of CP, ADF, NDF, DDM, TDN, DE, ME, Ca and P; Lathyrus annuus genotype number 4 were found the highest value in terms of DM, DMI, RFV, RFQ and K. It would be useful to consider these prominent aspects of these genotypes in future studies.