Table 1. Forage yield, acid detergent fiber (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL) and nitrogen (N) concentrations of summer-grown annual legumes in north-central Texas under three harvesting regimes (pooled over 9 different annual legumes; means within the same column followed by different letters differ according to LSD_0.05).

Harvest	Yield	ADF	ADL	N	ADF	ADL	N
		- -Early Season- -			- - -Late season- - -
	kg ha-1 yr-1	- - - - - - - - - - g kg-1 forage- - - - - - - - - -
Clip 75 mm	3,8000 a	230 a	51 a	42 b	216 a	46 a	36 ab
Clip 150 mm	4,100 a	230 a	51 a	43 b	223 a	49 a	35 b
Plucked 75 mm	3,500 a	190 b	52 a	47 a	193 b	48 a	38 a

Discrepancies in harvest methodology make comparisons among reported herbaceous legume yields and nutritive value difficult. A study of nine annual forage legumes comparing clipped harvests at 75 and 150 mm stubble heights with hand-plucked forage (all leaves and tender stems removed from plants down to 75 mm stubble height) indicated no differences (P = 0.30) in season-long forage yields or early season ADL (P > 0.50; Table 1). Early season ADF of the hand-plucked material, however, was 17% lower and early-season N was 11% greater than the two clipped harvests. Clipping to 75 versus 150 mm stubble resulted in no differences. There were no species X harvest interactions, indicating that all legumes responded similarly to harvest treatments. Late season data showed similar patterns. These preliminary results indicate that legume forage nutritive value data using harvest methods imitating hay-cutting are not always comparable with those harvest methods more closely imitating browsing animals. Yields, however, may prove more comparable although further studies are required.