| Condensed tannins (CT) present in Lotus spp., depending on their concentration in the plant, can prevent bloating and improve protein absorption in ruminants. With the objective to know the variability of this characteristic, the CT concentration (% dry matter basis) was determined by the butanol-HCl procedure in 13 cultivars of Lotus corniculatus L. (Lc) introduced from North and South America and Oceania, 11 accessions of Lotus tenuis Waldst. & Kit. ex Willd. (Lt), and 22 accessions of Lotus uliginosus Schkuhr (Lu) collected in Chile, from 32° to 38° S and 36° to 46° S, respectively. The field experiments, with two randomized complete blocks, were established in autumn 1998, in five different environments in the central-southern zone of Chile... |
