Correlations among shearing force and feed characteristics of ginger stems

The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of morphological characteristic on shearing force, the relationship between shearing force and chemical compositions, and the relationship between shearing force and in situ digestibility of ginger stems. Ginger stems were harvested and all leaves were removed from the main stems. Each stem was cut into two segments. Shearing force was measured with a C-LM3 meat shear. Meanwhile, long axis, minor axis, and chemical composition were measured. Three Xiao Wei sheep were used to determine in situ digestibility of DM and NDF in 48 h for ginger stems. The results showed that long axis was more important than chemical composition in affecting shearing force of ginger stem. There was positive relationship between lignin content and shearing force ginger stems. Correlations were also found between shearing force and other chemical components, such as ADF, cellulose and hemicelluloses in ginger stems. Negative correlations were found between shearing force and DM digestibility, NDF digestibility in ginger stem. These indicats that the variance in stem shearing force was related to chemical composition and morphological characteristics. In situ digestibility of ginger stems had a negative relationship with shearing force. Shearing force was easy to measure and it can be used as an indicator of forage nutritive value.