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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2019, Vol. 28 ›› Issue (6): 148-156.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2018809

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Variety effects on fermentation quality and nutritive value of whole-plant maize silage

LIU Yue1, WANG Guo-gen1, WU Hao1, MENG Qing-xiang1, SONG En-liang2, CHENG Hai-jian2, ZHOU Zhen-ming1,*   

  1. 1.State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China;
    2.Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100, China
  • Received:2018-12-13 Revised:2019-03-11 Online:2019-06-20 Published:2019-06-20
  • Contact: * E-mail: zhouzm@cau.edu.cn

Abstract: This experiment was conducted to investigate the fermentation quality and nutritive value of whole-plant maize silage made from different silage-specific varieties. Zheng Silage No.1, Jinling Silage No.17 and Jingke Silage No.516 were harvested at one-half to three-fourths milk line and ensiled in plastic bags (50 cm×80 cm) for 60 days, then sensory evaluation was performed and fermentation quality analyzed. Chemical composition and in vitro digestibility were carried out after air-drying of samples. All varieties performed well in the sensory evaluations, while the grain content and total score showed significantly differences among varieties (P<0.01), color and odor also differed (P<0.05). There were significantly differences in fermentation parameters among varieties (P<0.01), and when Flieg score (FS) was ≥ 110.00 points, fermentation quality was excellent. There were significantly differences among varieties in dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), water soluble carbohydrate (WSC), starch, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), ash contents and relative feed value (RFV) (P<0.01), and RFV was >121.00 in all cases. There were also significantly differences in silage yield and energy values among varieties (P<0.01). The milk per ton index (MT), total digestible nutrients (TDN) and energy values of Zheng Silage No.1 were significantly higher (P<0.01), while DM yield and milk per acre index (MA) were significantly lower than other two varieties (P<0.01). The dry matter (DM) yield of Jinling Silage No.17 was significantly higher (P<0.01), MT, TDN and energy values were significantly higher than Jingke Silage No.516 (P<0.01), and milk per acre index (MA) was the highest. Carbohydrate fractions analysis, in vitro DM digestibility (IVDMD) and in vitro NDF digestibility (IVNDFD) showed significantly differences among varieties (P<0.01). The IVDMD and IVNDFD of Jinling Silage No.17 were significantly higher than other tested varieties (P<0.01). The IVDMD of Jingke Silage No.516 was significantly higher than Zheng Silage No.1 (P<0.01), while the IVNDFD of Zheng Silage No.1 was significantly higher than Jingke Silage No.516 (P<0.01). In conclusion, Jinling Silage No.17 performed better than the other two varieties in this experiment, and the second ranked performer was Jingke Silage No.516.

Key words: silage-specific maize, fermentation quality, nutritive value, in vitro digestibility