Abstract 311

CIAT, Cali, Colombia.

CIAT Annual Report, Tropical Pastures Program. unda, 247-267. Cali, Colombia.

Relationships between tannin content of legumes and protein degradation in the rumen were examined together with palatability of Desmodium ovalifolium and Stylosanthes guianensis and nutritive value and voluntary intake by sheep of a range of legumes and grasses grown in pure stand or in grass/legume mixtures. When (a) S. capitata cv. Capica and (b) Pueraria phaseoloides cv. Kudzu were sown into native savanna with or without burning and grazed by cattle, the high palatibility and voluntary intake of (a) resulted in overgrazing in dry and rainy seasons whereas (b) with high CP content and low intake except in the dry season was more compatible in associations with savanna grasses. It was suggested that (a) would be highly suitable for consumption by breeding cows and young calves.