Comparisons of Corn Stover Silages after Fresh- or Ripe-Corn Harvested: Effects on Digestibility and Rumen Fermentation in Growing Beef Cattle
Min Zhang,
Rong Wang,
Tingting Wu,
Yingbai Yang,
Zhixiong He,
Zhiyuan Ma,
Zhiliang Tan,
Bo Lin,
Min Wang
Affiliations
Min Zhang
College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
Rong Wang
Key Laboratory for Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region/National Engineering Laboratory for Pollution Control and Waste Utilization in Livestock and Poultry Production, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China
Tingting Wu
College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
Yingbai Yang
College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
Zhixiong He
Key Laboratory for Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region/National Engineering Laboratory for Pollution Control and Waste Utilization in Livestock and Poultry Production, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China
Zhiyuan Ma
Key Laboratory for Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region/National Engineering Laboratory for Pollution Control and Waste Utilization in Livestock and Poultry Production, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China
Zhiliang Tan
Key Laboratory for Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region/National Engineering Laboratory for Pollution Control and Waste Utilization in Livestock and Poultry Production, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China
Bo Lin
College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
Min Wang
Key Laboratory for Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region/National Engineering Laboratory for Pollution Control and Waste Utilization in Livestock and Poultry Production, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China
Both waxy corn stover after fresh- (CF) and ripe-corn (CR) harvested are important byproducts of corn cropping system and have 20 d difference in harvest time. The study aimed to investigate the effects of prolonging harvest time on the nutritive value of corn stover silage by comparing CF with CR silages. In vitro ruminal experiment was firstly performed to investigate substrate degradation and fermentation of CF and CR silages. The CR diet was formulated by replacing 50% forage of CF silage with CR silage on a dry matter (DM) basis. Fourteen crossbred steers (Simmental × Limousin × local Chinese) aged 13 months with an average weight of 318.1 ± 37.1 kg were selected and randomly allocated into two dietary treatment groups. Although the CR silage had greater DM and fiber contents than CF silage, it did not alter in vitro degradation (p > 0.05), but with lower molar percentage of propionate and acetate to propionate ratio (p Fibrobacter succinogenes (p p > 0.05). Few differences were observed in the abundance of genera larger than 1% (p > 0.05), except for the reduction in abundance of genera Ruminococcaceae_NK4A214_group in CR treatment (p < 0.05). In summary, prolonging 20 d harvest time of corn stover silage increases the forage fiber and DM content, which promotes feed intake with decreased fiber degradation, although rumen fermentation and growth performance are not changed in growing beef cattle.
