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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 November 2017
The nylon bag technique is widely used for assessing the kinetics of forage disappearance in the rumen (Ørskov, Hovell & Mould, 1980); the technique also holds promise for predicting the intake of roughages (Ørskov, Reid & Kay, 1988). The nylon bag technique is being advocated as being especially suitable for tropical conditions where laboratory facilities are limited. However the technique has a capacity limitation. Due to its dependence on in situ incubation in the rumen of fistulated animals, only small numbers of forage samples can be assessed at any one time. Thus the technique is of limited value in laboratories undertaking routine screening of large numbers of samples, for the purposes of feed evaluation and for use in plant breeding programmes.