Effect of Poultry Litter Application Method and Rainfall and Delayed Wrapping on Warm-Season Grass Baleage

Abstract

Poultry litter is a widely available fertilizer in the southeast USA and subsurface application of litter can increase both forage production and nutritive value. Frequent rainfall events and high humidity often limit time available for hay curing; baled silage techniques can increase harvest time flexibility. Unfortunately, rainfall events can still occur without forecast during harvest events, resulting in delayed baling or wrapping. The objective of this study was to evaluate poultry litter amendment methods, subsurface (SUB) and surface (SURF), and the effect of no rain (NR) on bales with wrapping after 2 h compared with rained-on bales with 17 h delayed wrapping (RDW) on warm-season grass baleage fermentation and nutritive value. Data were analyzed as a randomized complete block design with two amendment treatments and two post-baling treatments. Crude protein (CP) was greater (p p p = 0.03), starch (p p p p p p p = 0.03) were greater in SUB, while butyric acid tended to be greater (p = 0.09), and alcohols (p = 0.05) were greater in SURF. Bales from RDW and NR only differed by greater (p < 0.01) propionic acid concentrations in NR. Under the conditions of this experiment, subsurface application of poultry litter increased final nutritive value, while rainfall and delayed wrapping of 17 h had few effects on the final nutritive value of warm-season grass baleage.

Keywords

• baleage
• delayed wrapping
• warm season grasses
• bermudagrass
• silage
• rain