Evaluation of Nutritive Value of Grass Pea Hay in Sheep Nutrition and Its Palatability as Compared with Alfalfa

The nutritive value of grass pea (Lathyrus sativus L.) hay was evaluated based on its chemical composition, Gas production, fractioning of protein in CNCPS and AFRC systems, Metabolizable Energy (ME), rumen degradability through in situ technique and in vitro digestibility through Tilley and Terry method. The Crude Protein (CP), Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF) and Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF) values of grass pea hay amounted to 232.4, 397 and 300.6 (g kg-1 DM) respectively. Condensed Tannins (CTs) and β-N-Oxalyl –L-α, β-diAmino Propionic acid (ODAP) amounted 0.2 and 11.8 (g kg-1 DM) respectively. Grass pea estimated ME ranged from 6.86 (MJ kg-1 DM) to 12.03 (MJ kg-1 DM) by different methods. Metabolizable Protein (MP) content was found 534.7 g kg-1 of CP. A high level of CP and MP content followed by a high content of ME along with a high palatability, cause grass pea to be introduced as an alternative to sheep forage in drought conditions.