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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2021, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (11): 181-190.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2020421

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Feed nutritional value and silage processing properties of Caragana microphylla

Hong-jiao HU1,2(), Xin-ping LIU1(), Tong-hui ZHANG1, Yu-hui HE3, Ming-ming WANG1,2, La-mei ZHANG4, Shan-shan SUN1,2, Li CHENG1,2   

  1. 1.Naiman Desertification Research Station,Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Lanzhou 730000,China
    2.University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100049,China
    3.Gaolan Station of Agricultural and Ecological Experiment,Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources,Chinese Academy of Science,Lanzhou 730000,China
    4.Forestry and Grassland Service Center of Tongwei County,Gansu Province,Dingxi 743300,China
  • Received:2020-09-21 Revised:2020-11-18 Online:2021-10-19 Published:2021-10-19
  • Contact: Xin-ping LIU

Abstract:

Caragana microphylla is one of the key available ruminant feed resources in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and its industry utilization is still in the development stage. There is therefore an urgent need to explore suitable feed processing technologies for this forage. In this study, C. microphylla herbage samples at florescence (A1), fruit stage (A2) and at the end of the growing season (A3) in Horqin Sandy Land were ensiled with different amounts of added molasses [no addition (C0), 10 g·kg-1(C1)] and silage inoculant bacteria [no addition (B0), 0.02 g·kg-1 (B1), 0.04 g·kg-1 (B2), 0.06 g·kg-1 (B3)]. Samples of C. microphylla herbage for the three growth periods were collected before ensiling as controls (CK1, CK2, CK3). The optimal silage processing technology was selected by evaluating the nutritional value of different C. microphylla silages. The results showed that, except for phosphorus (P) content, the nutrient contents of C. microphylla before ensiling differed significantly between growth periods, with the ranking being: A3>A1>A2. The effect of silage inoculant bacteria on the nutritive value of C. microphylla was greater at fruit stage and the end of the growing season than at florescence, while the effects of molasses were greater at florescence, and there was almost no interaction between them. After ensiling, the content of each C. microphylla silage displayed no obvious pattern of difference between different growth periods. The optimal silage processing methodology was A2+B1+C0 (harvest at fruit stage, add 0.02 g·kg-1 silage inoculant bacteria, but no added molasses) and the weight ranking of nutritive value indexes was crude protein (CP)>crude fiber (CF)>crude ash (Ash)>acid detergent lignin (ADL)>phosphorus (P)>nitrogen free extract (NFE)>crude fat (EE)>calcium (Ca). Compared with the three controls, CP, EE, NFE and Ash contents of C. microphylla were enhanced by use of the optimal silage technology identified above, and the increases were 15.70%, 1.79%, 28.16% and 5.59%, respectively. At the same time, the contents of CF and ADL were decreased by 40.65% and 11.83%, respectively. This study provides technical advice on methodology for ensiling Caragana roughage in arid and semi-arid areas of northern China to provide a non-conventional feed source. This development is expected to be of great significance for promoting adoption of regional sand-fixing plants in the reclamation and utilization of environmentally delicate sites to develop the animal breeding industry.

Key words: Caragana microphylla, growth period, nutritional value, silage processing methodology