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Acta Prataculturae Sinica ›› 2022, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (4): 145-154.DOI: 10.11686/cyxb2021021

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Effects of sweet sorghum silage and whole-plant corn silage on the forestomach microecology of mutton sheep

De-zhi YANG1, Chen WANG2, Ming-jie HOU3, Hu-cheng WANG2()   

  1. 1.Qingyang Animal Husbandry Technology Extension Center,Qingyang 745000,China
    2.College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology,Lanzhou University,Lanzhou 730020,China
    3.Gansu Normal College for Nationalities (GNCN),Hezuo 747000,China
  • Received:2021-01-20 Revised:2021-03-22 Online:2022-04-20 Published:2022-01-25
  • Contact: Hu-cheng WANG

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of sweet sorghum silage and whole-plant corn silage on the forestomach microecology of mutton sheep. Healthy Dorper ewe lambs aged from 3 to 4 months (33.40±1.68 kg) were selected and randomly divided into two groups with seven sheep in each group: a sweet sorghum silage group (SS group) and a whole-plant corn silage group (CS group). Ewes were all fed in the same shed and had free access to water. The experiment included a 15-day pre-treatment adaptation period and a 90-day feeding-trial period. At the end of the trial period, 4 sheep in each group were slaughtered and samples of digesta and tissues from the forestomach (rumen, reticulum and omasum) were collected. Fermentation parameters, microbial expression, epithelial color and tissue structure were determined. It was found that: 1) The dry matter intake of the CS mutton sheep was significantly higher than that of SS group (P<0.05). 2) After feeding the SS and CS silages to the mutton sheep for 90 days, there was no significant difference in the pH value of the forestomach contents (P>0.05). In the contents of the reticulum, the NH3-N and total volatile fatty acid (TVFA) concentrations of the SS group were significantly higher than in the CS group (P<0.05), while the butyric acid content in the CS group was significantly higher than in the SS group (P<0.05). 3) The occurrence levels of Prevotella brevisPrevotella ruminicolaFibrobacter succinogenes and Rumincoccus flavefaciens in the rumens of the SS group were significantly higher than in the CS group (P<0.05). 4) Diet treatment significantly affected the forestomach epithelial color; the epithelium of forestomach tissues was darker in the CS group than in the SS group (P<0.05). 5) The rumen papillae in the SS group were significantly wider than in the CS group (P<0.05). The thickness of the reticulum mucosa, submucosa and muscular layer of the sheep did not differ significantly (P>0.05) between the two silage types, although the thickness of the valve epithelial mucosa in the CS sheep was significantly higher than in the SS group (P<0.05). In conclusion, compared with CS group, the feed intake of SS sheep was lower. The rumen TVFA levels, the occurrence of fibrinolytic bacteria in the forestomach and the width of rumen papillae in the SS group were significantly higher than in the CS group, while the color of forestomach epithelium was lighter in SS sheep and the degree of keratinization was lower. The differences observed in SS treatment (compared with the CS group), were beneficial to the gastrointestinal health of mutton sheep.

Key words: sweet sorghum silage, whole-plant corn silage, mutton sheep, forestomach, microecology