The Effect of Soil Treatments on the Tannin Content of Lespedeza Sericea 1

EiSPEDEZA sericea (L. cuneata) is now being grown on more than one-half million acres in Alabama. This indicates that sericea holds an important place in the forage crop program of that state. One of the factors favoring sericea production is its ability to furnish grazing under summer conditions so adverse that most other forage crops cease growth. It is also well adapted to soils of low fertility, and often produces satisfactory yields for several seasons without lime or fertilizer treatments. One of the most unfavorable characteristics of the crop is its low palatability. This has generally been attributed to the relatively high content of tannins or tannic acid (3, 10). The tannin content of sericea leaves is generally 6 to 8% as compared to less than 2% for alfalfa at the hay stage. Tannin contents up to 18% have been reported for sericea leaves where plants were at advanced stages of maturity (2). Observations by experiment station personnel and farmers have indicated that cattle grazed sericea more readily where lime and/or fertilizers had been applied even where yield responses to such treatments were not apparent. Most