Nitrogen utilisation by lambs offered red clover and lucerne silages harvested at two different stages of growth

1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 ◽  
pp. 95-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.D. Fraser ◽  
M.H.M. Speijers ◽  
S.T. Evans ◽  
R. Jones

Ensiled grass is presently the major source of winter feed for dairy cows and other livestock in the UK. However, the quality and quantity of protein in grass silage tends to limit its use for milk production, which means that bought-in concentrate supplements must be fed to maintain high production levels. Whilst forage legumes such as red clover and lucerne appear to have potential as home-grown, protein-rich feeds for livestock (Frame et al., 1998), there is very little information available regarding their nutritive value when ensiled. The aim of this study was to compare the N balance of lambs offered red clover and lucerne silages harvested at two different growth stages.

Author(s):  
J. Hill ◽  
J.D. Leaver

Whole crop wheat (WCW) is a relatively new crop as a feed for dairy cows, and little information is available on its dry matter yield and nutritive value relative to stage of growth at harvest. Also, the role of urea (which hydrolyses to ammonia in the crop) addition in reducing fermentation and aerobic spoilage losses has not been investigated.The aim of this experiment was to examine three stages of growth at harvest for WCW, with and without urea.An area of winter wheat (cv Fortress) was cut (5 cm above ground) at three growth stages (GS 49, 71 and 87). The resultant forages were chopped through a precision-chop harvester and stored in air-tight barrels of 0.225 m3 capacity. Urea was added at 0 and 40 g/kgDM at each stage of growth and there were three replicates of each treatment. Thermocouples placed centrally were used to monitor temperature changes. The mini silos held approximately 100 kg of forages and they were opened after 90 days. Vertical cores were taken as samples and the mini silos were left open for a further 18 days to assess aerobic deterioration.


1962 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. F. Rook ◽  
R. C. Campling

1. The ‘availability’ of the magnesium of diets consisting solely of roughage or succulent feeds, including herbages cut at different seasons and at different stages of growth, and of diets of hay supplemented with various concentrate feeds, was assessed in metabolism trials conducted with two non-pregnant, non-lactating Shorthorn cows.2. The highest daily intakes of magnesium (1720 g./day) were provided by a diet of red clover: grasses and hays generally gave a considerably lower intake of magnesium (8–10 g./day), and most of the other diets provided intermediate amounts. However, with timothy hay and barley straw, intakes of 5 and 2 g./day, respectively, were recorded. Supplements to a diet of hay of dairy cubes or of oilcakes rich in protein gave a massive increase in magnesium intake but a supplement of flaked maize provided little additional magnesium.3. The ‘availability’ of the magnesium of the diets was generally low, within the range of 5–30%. With diets of single feeds no clear distinction between the various roughages and succulents in the ‘availability’ of their magnesium was established, though within the group of herbages the lowest values tended to occur with grasses cut at an early stage of growth and the highest values at the mature stage. A supplement of flaked maize increased the ‘availability’ of dietary magnesium and one of protein-rich oil cakes decreased the ‘availability’ of dietary magnesium.4. The results are discussed in relation to the development of hypomagnesaemia in cattle grazing spring pasture.


1995 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Semiadil ◽  
T. N. Barry ◽  
P. D. Muir ◽  
J. Hodgson

SUMMARYGrazing sambar and red deer in New Zealand were offered a free choice of seven different plant species (forage legumes, browse and grasses) in 1992 and 1993 and dietary preference rankings were determined. Nutritive value of plants on offer and diet selected, plant height, plant species purity and stem diameter selected (browse only) were also determined. Total nitrogen (N) and organic matter digestibility (OMD) were highest for red clover, lowest for grasses and intermediate for browse species (willow, poplar and lupin). Top dietary preference ranking was willow for sambar and red clover for red deer in both years, with Yorkshire fog and prairie grass being lowly preference ranked with both deer species. Sambar selected willow stems up to 38 mm in diameter and poplar stems up to 54 mm in diameter. When the plants were grouped into browse, grass and forage legume categories, both deer species showed a similar preference ranking for grasses. Relative to grasses, sambar showed a strong preference for browse and a low preference for forage legumes, whilst red deer showed a strong preference for forage legumes of high nutritive value and a very low preference for browse. It was calculated that sambar selected a total diet higher in condensed tannins and lignin but lower in nitrogen than that selected by red deer, with similar values for total fibre and OMD. Differences in dietary preference between the two deer species may be linked with the greater ability of sambar deer to neutralize some plant secondary compounds and their more efficient rumination pattern compared with red deer. Both sambar and red deer can be classified as intermediate feeders, having a similar preference for grasses, but differing preferences for forage legumes and browse.


1965 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. Grieve ◽  
D. F. Osbourn

1. Twenty feeding and digestibility trials were carried out on seven tropical grasses to determine their nutritional value at different stages of growth, and to study their suitability as possible pasture grasses.2. Content of crude protein was relatively high at immature growth stages of the forages, and declined rapidly with the onset of flowering.3. Digestibility of dry matter and gross energy increased in most of the forages tested to the 5-week stage of regrowth but declined rapidly in mature stages of forages tested at 6 or 8 weeks of regrowth. Digestibility of crude protein declined with increasing maturity of the forages.4. The Nutritive Value Index of each forage was highest at four or five weeks of regrowth. The optimum time to graze the forages tested would occur between 4 and 5 weeks of regrowth, at the stage when flowering commences. This would combine high yield of forage with high nutritional value.


Weed Science ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 953-956 ◽  
Author(s):  
Drew J. Lyon ◽  
Robert G. Wilson

The effects of the dimethylamine salt of dicamba (3,6-dichloro-2-methoxybenzoic acid) and the dimethylamine salt of 2,4-D [(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid] on fieldbeans (Phaseolus vulgarisL. ‘Great Northern Valley’) were studied in order to assess the potential hazards of using these herbicides in areas adjoining fieldbean production. Dicamba and 2,4-D were applied to fieldbeans at three different rates (1.1, 11.2, and 112.5 g ai/ha) and four different growth stages (preemergence, second trifoliolate leaf, early bloom, and early pod). Application of 2,4-D preemergence or in the second trifoliolate leaf stage of growth did not reduce seed yield, delay maturity, or reduce germination of seed obtained from treated plants. Dicamba or 2,4-D applied at 112.5 g/ha to fieldbeans in the early bloom or early pod stages of growth consistently reduced seed yield, delayed maturity, and reduced germination percentage. Fieldbeans exhibited a greater overall sensitivity to dicamba than to 2,4-D.


2006 ◽  
Vol 46 (12) ◽  
pp. 1601 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Nair ◽  
A. Whittall ◽  
D. K. Revell ◽  
K. Dowling ◽  
S. Hughes ◽  
...  

Melilotus albus (Medik.) is a pasture legume with potential value in Australian farming systems, especially in salt-affected areas. However, the use of this species has been limited because of concerns over high coumarin concentrations. The aim of this trial was to determine the effect of defoliation on the concentration of 2-hydroxy cinnamic acid, a coumarin precursor, at 3 stages of growth (vegetative, flowering and post-flowering) in 6 accessions. The concentration of 2-hydroxy cinnamic acid was determined by high performance liquid chromatography in leaves of plants grown in a glasshouse. Defoliation stress increased the 2-hydroxy cinnamic acid content in the leaves of all accessions studied by about 8%, from 0.89 to 0.96% of dry matter. The 2-hydroxy cinnamic acid concentrations were not significantly different between vegetative and flowering stages in any of the accessions studied, but showed a significant increase post-flowering for 4 out of the 6 accessions studied. This study indicates that grazing may increase the coumarin or 2-hydroxy cinnamic acid concentration in Melilotus albus, but in screening for suitable accessions to progress to new cultivars, it is not necessary to subject plants to a defoliation stress to rank the accessions for 2-hydroxy cinnamic acid or coumarin concentration.


1998 ◽  
Vol 131 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. N. BARRY

Chicory (Cichorium intybus) is perhaps best known for the extract of its roots used as an ingredient in ‘coffee substitute’ beverages. It is less well known as a grazed forage for ruminants. Thomas et al. (1952) reported the high content of some major and minor trace minerals in chicory grown in the UK, and commented on its use in pasture mixtures as a source of these minerals. Chicory was first mentioned in New Zealand (NZ) literature as an animal forage by Cockayne (1915), but a long period then elapsed before Lancashire (1978) reported its excellent value for forage production under rotational grazing in dry summer conditions. Plant selection then followed and the cultivar ‘Grasslands Puna’ was approved for commercial release as a grazed forage plant in 1985 (Rumball 1986). The use of Puna chicory has now spread throughout NZ and the variety is also being used commercially in Australia, North America and South America and is being evaluated in parts of Europe and Asia (W. Green, personal communication). Chicory is a herb, whereas other temperate forages used for ruminant production are either grasses or legumes. This paper reviews work on the chemical composition, nutritive value and feeding value of chicory relative to perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and to red clover (Trifolium pratense), a legume that, like chicory, is used as a forage for dry summer conditions. Throughout this paper, feeding value is defined as the animal production response to grazing a forage under unrestricted conditions (Ulyatt 1973), with its components being voluntary feed intake (VFI), the digestive process and the efficiency of utilization of digested nutrients; the latter two comprise nutritive value/dry matter (DM) eaten.


1982 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-126
Author(s):  
Liisa Syrjälä-Qvist

The utilization of silages prepared from grass at three different growth stages was studied with three adult reindeer and three adult sheep. Palatability, digestibility and nitrogen balance trials were performed according to the Latin-square design. As the different silages were similar in chemical composition and quality, the results are mainly expressed and discussed as the averages for all three. The intake of silage dry matter(DM) by the reindeer averaged 938 g/day and the intake by the sheep 1787g/day. These values corresponded to intakes of about 3.7kg and 7.1kg fresh silage, and 16g and 27g DM/kg liveweight, respectively. The total water consumption (water from feed + water drunk) for the reindeer was 5 g/kg DM eaten and for the sheep 3kg. The digestibility of the different silage constituents was similar in the reindeer and sheep, but the apparent digestibility of crude protein was significantly (P


1976 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. PELLETIER ◽  
J.-C. ST-PIERRE ◽  
J. E. COMEAU

Chemical analysis, in vivo digestibility and voluntary intake measurements were used to determine the nutritive value of different crops made as silage for sheep. In the first experiment, grass silages contained less N-NH3 than corn–pea silage. Digestible energy intake of grass silage treated with formic acid was higher than that which was untreated. Digestibility, dry matter intake and the nutritive value index were higher for corn–pea silage than for treated or untreated grass silage. In the second experiment, six different silages were made. Corn was harvested at the milk and dough stages of growth and after a frost and was chopped at either 1.3 cm or 0.6 cm. Silage made with corn harvested after a frost and chopped at 1.3 cm and that made with corn harvested at the milk stage and chopped at 0.6 cm had higher N-NH3 content than the others. Fine chopping decreased digestibility of silages harvested at earlier maturity stages but increased the digestible energy of the corn silage harvested after a frost. Voluntary intake was greater with silages harvested at the later dates than with silage harvested at the milk stage.


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