Haulms from improved germplasm/released groundnut cultivars (ICGV 89104, ICGV 91114, TMV 2, ICGV 92093, ICGV 92020, ICGV 86325, ICGS 76, ICGS 11, ICGS 44, DRG 12 and ICGV 86590) were harvested at full pod maturity from seed multiplication trials at Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, India. Four cultivars (DRG 12, ICGS 11, ICGS 44 and ICGV 86325) were harvested and fed in 2 different years. Haulms were fed ad libitum as sole feed to growing Deccani sheep which had a mean initial live weight of approximately 18 kg. Ad libitum feed intake was adjusted by allowing less than 10% of refused feed. The haulm of a cultivar was fed to 6 sheep in metabolic cages. The sheep were adapted to a cultivar for 3 weeks, following which faeces were collected for 10 days. The sheep were weighed before the start of the trial and before and after the 10-day collection period on 2 consecutive days for which mean weights were calculated. Haulm nitrogen content, neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre, acid detergentlignin and in vitro organic matter digestibility (OMD) were recorded. Significant differences among cultivars were observed for OMD, organic matter intake (OMI), digestible organic matter intake (DOMI) and live weight gains (LWG) in sheep. Greatest differences among cultivars were observed for daily LWG. LWG in the 4 cultivars that were harvested and fed in 2 different years did not differ significantly between years. Sheep fed haulms of ICGV 89104 gained the most live weight, i.e. > 150 g daily. Indirect haulm quality estimates, OMD, OMI and DOMI, accounted for 0.71, 0.34 and 0.76 of the variation in daily LWG, respectively. OMD and lignin content were considered suitable for use in the initial screen of germplasm with high haulm quality.