The effects of feeding grass silage and molassed sugarbeet pulp either separately or as an ensiled mixture to twin-bearing ewes

1998 ◽  
Vol 130 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. V. O'DOHERTY ◽  
P. NOWAKOWSKI ◽  
T. F. CROSBY

First-harvest, precision-chopped Lolium perenne grass with a dry matter (DM) content of 132·0 g/kg and water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) and crude protein (CP) contents of 24 g/kg and 106 g/kg DM, respectively, was ensiled in farm scale silos following the addition of formic acid (FA) (2·5 l/t) or molassed sugarbeet pulp (MSBP) (50 kg/t). Mature twin-bearing ewes (n=56) were allocated to one of seven treatments and offered either FA-treated silage or MSBP silage ad libitum. The trial commenced on day 91 of pregnancy, when the ewes were offered FA-treated silage (T1), FA-treated silage+soyabean meal (T2), MSBP silage (T3), MSBP silage+soyabean meal (T4), FA-treated silage+MSBP (T5), FA-treated silage+MSBP+soyabean meal (T6) or FA-treated silage+a barley-based supplement (150 g CP per kg DM) (T7, control). Soyabean meal supplementation was only offered in the last 3 weeks of pregnancy, with the objective of achieving a total CP intake of 220 g/ewe per day. Compared with the FA-treated silage, the MSBP silage had a higher nitrogen content (P<0·01) and a lower neutral detergent fibre (NDF) content, but the two silages did not differ in DM, acid detergent fibre (ADF) or gross energy contents. Silage DM intakes (SDMI) were higher on the MSBP silage-based diets (T3, T4) than for any other treatment (P<0·05). The addition of soyabean meal significantly increased SDMI in T2 in the last week of pregnancy (P<0·05), but there was no response in SDMI to soyabean meal supplementation in any of the other treatments. Ewe liveweight changes (kg) of −0·4, 4·1, 7·8, 10·2, 7·1, 9·6 and 10·8 (S.E.±1·2), body condition score changes of −0·96, −0·59, −0·42, −0·33, −0·37, +0·01 and −0·27 (S.E.±0·1) and total lamb birth weights (kg) of 8·0, 8·7, 9·2, 9·9, 8·6, 8·0 and 10·4 (S.E.±0·5) were recorded for ewes in T1 to T7 respectively.

1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (8) ◽  
pp. 821 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. F. Smith ◽  
R. J. Simpson ◽  
R. N. Oram ◽  
K. F. Lowe ◽  
K. B. Kelly ◽  
...  

Summary. Two lines of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), cv. Aurora and breeding line Ba 11351, from the United Kingdom with elevated concentrations of water-soluble carbohydrates in the shoot were compared with the standard cultivars, Ellett, Vedette and Kangaroo Valley, in pure grass swards under irrigation at Kyabram, Victoria, and Gatton, Queensland, and under natural rainfall at Condah, Victoria, during 1995–97. Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy was used to predict the water-soluble carbohydrate, crude protein, in vitro dry matter digestibility, neutral and acid detergent fibre, and Klason lignin concentrations of the perennial ryegrass herbage. Herbage yield and water-soluble carbohydrate differed between cultivars at each site at most harvests, with the high water-soluble carbohydrate lines usually yielding less and having higher water-soluble carbohydrate concentrations than the 3 standard cultivars. However, the high water-soluble carbohydrate lines also had higher water-soluble carbohydrate concentrations at harvests where their yield was equal to the standard cultivars. The other nutritive value traits differed significantly at more than half of the 32 harvests: the high water-soluble carbohydrate lines had higher crude protein and dry matter digestibility, and lower neutral detergent fibre, the neutral detergent fibre containing less acid detergent fibre and lignin than did the standard cultivars. The high water-soluble carbohydrate lines were more susceptible to crown rust during spring and summer than the standard cultivars at Kyabram and Gatton: heavy infections reduced yield, water-soluble carbohydrate, dry matter digestibility and crude protein. Higher water-soluble carbohydrate may depend on only a few genes, as does rust resistance and it seems likely that high yielding, high water-soluble carbohydrate cultivars can be developed by recombination and selection.


1971 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. E. Beever ◽  
D. J. Thomson ◽  
E. Pfeffer ◽  
D. G. Armstrong

1. The effect of drying and ensiling ryegrass on the site of digestion of the energy andcarbohydrate fractions was studied in sheep fitted with rumen cannulas and re-entrant can-nulas in the proximal duodenum and terminal ileum.2. The sheep were given fresh (frozen) grass, dried grass, wilted and unwilted silage pre-pared from herbage harvested from the same sward. The grass diets were offered twice dailyto each animal and paper impregnated with chromium sesquioxide was administered twicedaily into the rumen. Twenty-four hour collections of duodenal and ileal digesta, adjusted togive 100 yo recovery of Cr2O3, were analysed to determine the extent of digestion in the fore-stomachs, the small intestine and the caecum and colon.3. Total digestibility of the gross energy was similar for the fresh grass, dried grass andwilted silage diets (67·4,68·1 and67·5 %)but higher for the unwilted silage (72·0 %, P < 0·01).There was an increased flow of energy into the small intestine when the sheep were given driedgrass and unwilted silage. The proportion of the apparently digested energy lost within thesmall intestine was greater when the dried grass was given (302 yo) than when the fresh grasswas given (23·6 yo).4. Drying or ensiling of wilted material affected digestion neither in the entire alimentarytract nor in the different sections of the tract, of some carbohydrate fractions. About 97 yo ofthe digested water-soluble carbohydrate, over 90 yo of the digested cellulose and over 70 yo ofthe digested hemicellulose were digested before reaching the small intestine. The increasedamount of energy entering the duodenum of the sheep given the dried grass was notaccounted for by changes in the fate of these carbohydrate fractions in the digestive tract. Withunwilted silage, digestibilities of the cellulose and hemicellulose fractions were higher, andlower proportions of the digested carbohydrates were lost before the small intestine.


1979 ◽  
Vol 92 (3) ◽  
pp. 605-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Ulyatt ◽  
A. R. Egan

SUMMARYThe extents and sites of digestion of organic matter (OM), and its constituent watersoluble carbohydrates, organic acids, pectin, cellulose, hemicellulose and crude protein have been studied in sheep prepared with re-entrant duodenal cannulas and fed four fresh herbage diets, Ruanui perennial ryegrass, Tama Westerwolds ryegrass, Pitau white clover and Fakir sainfoin, at each of two levels of intake.The water-soluble carbohydrate, organic acids and pectin of all diets were almost completely digested within the rumen. Some 10% of water soluble carbohydrate reached the duodenum on each diet, though this may not have been of dietary origin. Only on legume diets, where pectin concentration was higher, did measurable amounts of pectin reach the intestine, accounting for some 5% of the pectin.Hemicellulose and cellulose digestibilities differed between diets, being lowest for sainfoin, and next lowest for clover. Between 79 and 94% of digestible hemicellulose was digested in the stomach, but diet and intake had no significant effect on this partition. Of the digestible cellulose, 87–97% was digested in the stomach.Digestibility of N was lowest for sainfoin and highest for Tama ryegrass. There were no significant differences between herbage species or intake in the percentage of digested N digested in the stomach or intestines. The tannin contained in sainfoin had no effect on nitrogen digestion.Data from this and other studies reported in the literature were examined as a basis for establishing prediction equations whereby the partition of digestion of the major carbohydrate and nitrogenous constituents in stomach and intestines might be estimated from data obtainable from standard digestibility trials. Regressions were developed for predicting the amounts of OM, cellulose, and hemicellulose digested in the stomach. There are not yet enough suitable data available to predict the amount of nitrogen entering the small intestine.


1978 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 381-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Wilman ◽  
P. T. Wright

SUMMARYThe regrowth of Aberystwyth S. 22 Italian ryegrass, S. 24 perennial ryegrass and S. 37 cocksfoot was studied in field swards with and without applied nitrogen during the 21 days following a cut or grazing, there being a total of five periods of study at different tunes of year and in different years.The proportion of cell content in the harvested herbage, as measured by neutral detergent, increased by nearly 9 percentage units from day 3 to day 18 of regrowth. The proportion of cell content as measured by acid pepsin also increased during regrowth, but to a lesser extent. The proportion of cell content in leaf blades of two age categories, as measured by neutral detergent, also increased during regrowth. The above increases in proportion of cell content were found in all three grasses. The increases were associated with increases in the proportion of crude protein in dry matter, which were only partially offset by reductions in the proportion of water-soluble carbohydrate. The broad pattern of change in N and nitrate-N content of Italian ryegrass herbage during regrowth in spring with different amounts of N applied, noted in earlier experiments, was confirmed and found to apply to perennial ryegrass and cocksfoot also. During a September-October period of study there was little sign of decline in nitrate-N content within the 21 days where N had been applied. Younger leaf blades had a rather lower nitrate-N content and a slightly higher total N content, on average, than, older blades. The application of N increased the proportion of crude protein more than it reduced the proportion of water-soluble carbohydrate and it increased the proportion of cell content. The increase in proportion of cell content was sufficient to explain the positive effect of N application on digestibility. The average proportion of total herbage N which was found in the cell wall fraction was about 12%.There appeared to be a relationship between chemical composition and dry-matter content. The chlorophyll content of leaf blades increased during regrowth and was increased by N application. The experimental results on balance, particularly those for proportion of cell content, suggest an improvement in nutritive value of grass during regrowth up to about 3 weeks in contrast to the well-recognized decline in nutritive value where regrowth proceeds beyond about 3 weeks.


2017 ◽  
Vol 79 ◽  
pp. 111-118
Author(s):  
L.A. Box ◽  
G.R. Edwards ◽  
R.H. Bryant

Chicory and plantain have been suggested as alternative grazed forages to perennial ryegrass for New Zealand dairy systems. While diurnal changes in plant chemical composition have been described for ryegrass there is currently little information for herbs. This experiment aimed to compare the effect of nitrogen inputs (low and high) and harvesting time (am versus pm) on the chemical composition of four forages (ryegrass, plantain, chicory and white clover). The effect of harvest time was greater than N fertiliser inputs on chemical composition for all forages. Ryegrass showed the greatest increase in water soluble carbohydrate diurnally, at the expense of neutral detergent fibre and to a lesser extent crude protein. This suggests afternoon allocation of ryegrass may be beneficial to improve the nutritive value of pasture on offer; allocation timing is less important for white clover, chicory and plantain. Keywords: chicory, clover, crude protein, plantain, ryegrass, water soluble carbohydrate


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2270
Author(s):  
Cezary Purwin ◽  
Maciej Starczewski ◽  
Marta Borsuk ◽  
Zenon Nogalski ◽  
Paulina M. Opyd ◽  
...  

Different harvesting and preservation methods of Virginia fanpetals herbage were evaluated, based on the chemical composition and digestible organic matter (OM) content (D-value) of silage fed to adult sheep, the intake and digestibility of silage, and the performance of young cattle. The following harvesting methods were compared: direct-cut harvesting with a precision-cut forage harvester (DC), harvesting after field wilting with a precision-cut forage harvester (WC) or a round baler (WRB). The silage was fed for 81 days to 24 Polish Holstein Friesian (HF) bulls, as the sole forage supplemented with 3.0 kg of concentrate/head/day. Harvesting methods affected the density (p < 0.001) and water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content (p = 0.047). Differences were found among the groups in the digestibility coefficients of OM (DC-73.7, WC-78.9, WRB-79.9%) (p = 0.007), and crude protein (CP) (69.8%, 77.1%, 78.5%, respectively) (p < 0.001). Dry matter intake (DMI) reached 8.38 kg (DC), 8.74 kg (WC) and 7.21 kg (WRB). Live weight gain (LWG) differed (p < 0.001) among groups (0.939, 1.033, 0.813 kg/day, respectively). The feed conversion ratio (FCR) tended to improve in WC (8.66 kg DMI/kg LWG) (p = 0.08). The highest-quality silage was produced in group WC, and it could be successfully fed to growing bulls as the sole forage.


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-130
Author(s):  
Maw Htet ◽  
Rab Soomro ◽  
Hai Bo

A study was conducted to examine the effects of different planting structure of maize (Zea maysL.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) intercropping on fodder production and silage quality.Maize was cultivated alone and intercropped with soybean as follows;1 row maize to 1 row soybean (1M1S),1 row maize to 2 rows soybean (1M2S) and 1 row maize to 3 rows soybean (1M3S).The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with four treatments and three replications.The crops were harvested when the maize reached at heading stage (at about 35% dry matter).The results indicated significant increase in fresh biomass and dry matter production of maize fodder alone as compared to maize intercropped with soybean fodder.However,no difference (p>0.05) was observed in ether extract (EE ), ash (%)and acid detergent fibre (ADF) of nutrient composition of fodder among the four treatments.After 60 days of ensiling period,silage samples were analysed for pH,dry matter (DM),crude protein (CP),ether extract (EE),neutraldetergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and water soluble carbohydrate (WSC).All intercropped silages had higher CP values (1M1S,12.1%;1M2S,12.1%;1M3S,12.7%) than the monocrop maize (SM,8.4%) silage.The NDF and ADF levels were higher for maize silage as compared to intercropped silages. The study showed that among all intercropped silages the IM3S (1 row maize to 3 rows soybean) was preferable according to nutrient composition than other intercropped silages.


1981 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 669-680 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. BUCHANAN-SMITH ◽  
Y. T. YAO

A silage additive containing lactic acid bacteria was tested for its effect upon preservation of corn silage, 35–40% dry matter (DM), in four pairs of upright silos (100-t capacity). The additive did not affect (P > 0.05) final pH, lactic or acetic acid concentration, crude protein or NPN-N and NH4+-N expressed as a percent of total N. Recovery of energy from treated silage was greater than control in the two pairs of silos where this was determined, but recoveries of dry matter and crude protein were not consistently affected. Two silage additives, containing hydrolytic enzymes and an antioxidant with or without lactic acid bacteria, were tested on alfalfa, 20, 30, 36.5 and 47.3% DM, in 250-mL laboratory silos. The experimental design used a4 (DM level) × 4 (added glucose — 0,4,8 and 12%, DM basis) × 3 (additive — control, a hydrolytic enzyme/antioxidant additive (E/AO), and E/AO plus lactic acid bacteria (E/AO +)) factorial arrangement of treatments. Alfalfa was harvested using farm equipment. For 60-day silage, the additives as either a primary factor in the design or in second-order interactions with either silage DM or glucose showed no effect (P > 0.05) upon pH, lactic acid, acetic acid, butyric acid, Fleig score, residual water-soluble carbohydrate and percent of total N as NPN-N or ammonia-N. Poor quality silage resulted from the fermentation of alfalfa at 20 and 30% DM, and although additional glucose resolved this problem the additives did not. Beneficial effects of additional water-soluble carbohydrate in alfalfa silage fermentation are evident in data presented. Thus an additive containing an antioxidant and hydrolytic enzymes was not very effective and numbers of lactic acid bacteria in untreated alfalfa harvested with farm equipment must already be sufficient for adequate fermentation.


1972 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-156
Author(s):  
D. M. Bowden

Freeze-dried samples from six series of harvests of orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) and two series of grass–legume mixtures were generally highly digestible with high levels of water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC). When WSC content was held constant, the influence of crude protein (CP) content on dry matter digested in vitro was statistically significant in 6 of the 19 cuts of orchardgrass and 1 of the 15 cuts of grass–legume mixtures. When CP was held constant, the influence of WSC content on dry matter digested in vitro was significant in seven cuts of orchardgrass and seven cuts of grass–legume. CP content had a greater effect than WSC content on dry matter digested in vitro in 10 cuts of orchardgrass and six cuts of grass–legume mixtures. Cumulative effect of CP and WSC content on in vitro dry matter digestion varied between cuts. The potential of CP and WSC content alone or together as predictors of digestibility of the highly digestible forages sampled in this study varied between cuts.


1997 ◽  
Vol 129 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. OLIVEIRA ◽  
G. E. ROTTINGHAUS ◽  
J. COLLAR ◽  
P. CASTRO

Fifty-six half-sib families of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne), derived from wild populations in Galicia, were examined for the presence of perennial ryegrass endophytes; 28 were endophyte-infected (E+) and 28 were endophyte-free (E−). All families were established in spaced-plant nurseries and trial plots at two locations in Galicia, in 1992. E+ families had a significantly (P<0·05) higher first cut, spring and total yield than E− families at one location in the third year after planting. At this location, water deficit was about 75% higher than at the other location in all three years of study. Endophyte did not affect crown rust susceptibility or forage quality (crude protein, water-soluble carbohydrate and in vitro digestibility). Ergovaline alkaloid concentration in the 28 E+ families varied from 0 to 0·55 μg/g dry matter (DM) (mean 0·15), with 14 families containing levels of ergovaline >0·1 μg/g DM. Thus endophyte infection may benefit the host in drought-prone areas of Galicia, with an increased chance of E+ plants being favoured by either natural or artificial selection.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document