| The objective of this study was to determine if near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) can be used to predict in vitro true digestibility (IVTD) in Coastal bermudagrass hay.;Coastal bermudagrass hay (n = 212) was analyzed for moisture, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), crude protein (CP), and (IVTD). Spectral data was collected using a Unity SpectraStar RTW system spectrophotometer.;The R² values generated within UCal from regression analysis of the calibration set for moisture, NDF, ADF, CP, and IVTD were 0.92, 0.88, 0.95, 0.97, and 0.87, respectively, and the R² values for the validation set for the same properties were 0.49, 0.55, 0.64, 0.94, and 0.63, respectively.;The data suggests that NIRS can predict IVTD in Coastal bermudagrass hay if care is taken to minimize error variables. Future research will attempt to expand the calibration by adding other species of grass hay to the calibration set. |
