Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T01:27:34.151Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Wilting of herbage prior to ensiling: effects on conservation losses, silage fermentation and growth of beef cattle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

E. Charmley  and
C. Thomas
E. Charmley
Affiliation:
AFRC Institute for Grassland and Animal Production, Hurley, Maidenhead SL6 5LR
C. Thomas
Affiliation:
AFRC Institute for Grassland and Animal Production, Hurley, Maidenhead SL6 5LR
Get access

Abstract

A sward of perennial ryegrass was either directly ensiled at 181 g dry matter (DM) per kg fresh weight with formic acid applied at 3·6 1/t fresh material or wilted for 65 h to achieve a DM concentration of 407 g DM per kg. Physical and respiration loss were measured in the field and losses during ensiling were estimated from buried bags. The silages were offered to 58 British Friesian steers, initially 3 months of age and 101 kg live weight (LW). Ten steers were allocated to an initial slaughter group and the remainder were offered the two silages either ad libitum or at two restricted levels of feeding. These animals were slaughtered after a mean period of 112 days to estimate the increments in the components of the body.

Loss of DM in the field increased from 4·3 to 86·6 g/kg on wilting and proportionately 0·75 of this additional loss was due to respiration. The fermentation characteristics of the silages were broadly similar except that the concentration of ethanol was higher in the unwilted than in the wilted silage (57·6 v. 5·6 g/kg DM). Losses of DM during ensiling were slightly higher with the unwilted (104·4 g/kg ensiled) than with the wilted (80·1 g/kg) material. Losses of nitrogen were relatively higher and energy losses lower than was the loss of DM.

Wilting significantly depressed the digestibility of gross energy from 0·651 to 0·631 (P < 0·001) and at the ad libitum level steers ate proportionately 006 more wilted silage (P > 0·05) resulting in similar intakes of digestible energy. At the ad libitum level of feeding steers given wilted silage gained more LW (+55 g/day) and empty-body weight (+64 g/day) than those given unwilted silage (P < 0·05). However, steers given wilted silage contained less fat and energy in the empty body at slaughter than those given unwilted silage. Thus, wilting did not influence the efficiency of utilization of digestible energy for energy retention nor the efficiency of utilization of dietary protein for protein gain. Since efficiencies by the animal were similar and also the increased field loss on wilting was partly compensated for by a reduced silo loss, it is concluded that the proportion of energy and protein in the standing crop retained by the steers is unaffected by wilting (65 and 64 kJ/MJ and 125 and 138 g/kg N for unwilted and wilted systems respectively). Further work is needed to establish the effect of wilting for a shorter period than in the current trial by increasing the drying rate of herbage.

Type
Papers
Information
Animal Production , Volume 45 , Issue 2 , October 1987 , pp. 191 - 203
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1987

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Agricultural Research Council. 1965. The Nutrient Requirements of Farm Livestock. No. 2, Ruminants. Agricultural Research Council, London.Google Scholar
Agricultural Research Council. 1980. The Nutrient Requirements of Ruminant Livestock. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, Slough.Google Scholar
Anderson, R. 1983. The effect of extended moist wilting and formic acid additive on the conservation of silage of two grasses differing in total nitrogen content. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 34: 808–818.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, R. 1984/1985. Effect of prolonged wilting in poor conditions on the fermentation quality, metabolisability and net energy value of silage given to sheep. Animal Feed Science and Technology 12: 109–118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beever, D. E. 1980. The utilisation of protein in conserved forage. In Forage Conservation in the 80's (ed. Thomas, C.), Occasional Symposium of the British Grassland Society, No. 11, pp. 131–143.Google Scholar
Crawshaw, R. and Woolford, M. K. 1979. Aerobic deterioration of silage in and out of the silo. ADAS Quarterly Review 34: 167–178.Google Scholar
Davidson, J., Mathieson, J. and Boyne, A. W. 1970. The use of the automation in determining nitrogen by the Kjeldahl method, with final calculations by computer. Analyst, London 95: 181–193.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dewar, W. A. and McDonald, P. 1961. Determination of dry matter in silage by distillation with toluene. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 12: 790–795.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewar, W. A., McDonald, P. and Whittenbury, R. 1963. The hydrolysis of grass hemicelluloses during ensilage. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 14: 411–417.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Donaldson, E. and Edwards, R. A. 1976. Feeding value of silage: silages made from freshly cut grass, wilted grass and formic acid treated wilted grass. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 27: 536–544.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Flynn, A. V. and Wilson, R. K. 1978. The relative importance of digestibility, ensiling, fermentation and dry matter content in limiting the utilisation of silage by beef cattle. Proceedings of 7th European Grassland Congress, Ghent, Section 6, pp. 3–15.Google Scholar
Forbes, T. J. and Jackson, N. 1971. A study of the utilization of silage of different dry matter content by young beef cattle with and without supplementary barley. Journal of the British Grassland Society 26: 257–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goering, H. K. and Van Soest, P. J. 1970. Forage fiber analyses (apparatus, reagents, procedures and some applications). Agriculture Handbook, United States Department of Agriculture, No. 379.Google Scholar
Greenhalgh, J. F. D. and Wainman, F. W. 1980. The utilisation of energy in conserved forages. In Forage Conservation in the 80's (ed. Thomas, C.), Occasional Symposium of the British Grassland Society, No. 11, pp. 122–130.Google Scholar
Haigh, P. M. and Parker, J. W. G. 1985. Effect of silage additives and wilting on silage fermentation, digestibility and intake and on liveweight change of young cattle. Grass and Forage Science 40: 429–436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Honig, H. 1980. Mechanical and respiration losses during pre-wilting of grass. In Forage Conservation in the 80's (ed. Thomas, C.), Occasional Symposium of the British Grassland Society, No. 11, pp. 201–204.Google Scholar
Jackson, N. and Forbes, T. J. 1970. The voluntary intake by cattle of four silages differing in dry matter content. Animal Production 12: 591–599.Google Scholar
Kelly, N. C. and Thomas, P. C. 1978. The nutritive value of silages: Energy metabolism in sheep receiving diets of grass silage or grass silage and barley. British Journal of Nutrition 40: 205–219.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lonsdalk, C. R. 1976. The effect of season of harvest on the utilisation by growing cattle of dried grass given alone or as a supplement to silage. PhD Thesis, University of Reading.Google Scholar
McCarrick, R. B. 1966. Effect of method of grass conservation and herbage maturity on performance and body composition of beef cattle. Proceedings of 10th International Grassland Congress, Helsinki, pp. 575–580.Google Scholar
McDonald, P. 1981. The Biochemistry of Silage. Wiley, Chichester.Google Scholar
McDonald, P. and Edwards, R. A. 1976. The influence of conservation methods on digestion and utilization of forages by ruminants. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 35: 201–211.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McDonald, P. and Henderson, A. R. 1964. The determination of water soluble carbohydrates in grass. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 15: 395–398.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McLellan, A. R. and McGinn, R. 1981. A calorimetric investigation of the nutritive value of formic acid and formaldehyde-formic acid-treated grass silages. Animal Feed Science and Technology 6: 245–256.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marsh, R. 1978. The effects of wilting on fermentation in the silo and on the nutritive value of silage. Grass and Forage Science 34: 1–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayne, C. S. and Gordon, F. J. 1986. The effect of harvesting system on nutrient losses during silage making. 1. Field losses. Grass and Forage Science 41: 17–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morgan, C. A., Edwards, R. A. and McDonald, P. 1980. Intake and metabolism studies with fresh and wilted silages. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 94: 287–298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raymond, F. 1980. Additive treated and wilted grass silage for intensive bull beef production. In Forage Conservation in the 80's (ed. Thomas, C.), Occasional Symposium of the British Grassland Society, No. 11, pp. 397–402.Google Scholar
Rees, D. V. H. 1982. A discussion of sources of dry matter loss during the process of haymaking. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research 27: 469–479.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schukking, S. and Overvest, J. 1980. Direct and indirect loses caused by wilting. In Forage Conservation in the 80's (ed. Thomas, C.), Occasional Symposium of the British Grassland Society, No. 11, pp. 210–213.Google Scholar
Searle, D. R., Henderson, A. R., Petterson, K. O. and Lowe, J. F. 1986. The effect of addition of sugar and inoculation with two commercial inoculants on the fermentation of lucerne silage in laboratory silos. Grass and Forage Science 41: 61–70.Google Scholar
Steen, R. W. J. 1985. The effect of field wilting and mechanical treatment on the feeding value of grass silage for beef cattle and on beef output per hectare. Animal Production 41: 281–291.Google Scholar
Thomas, C. and Thomas, P. C. 1985. Factors affecting the nutritive value of grass silages. In Recent Advances in Animal Nutrition — 1985 (ed. Haresign, W. and Cole, D. J. A.), pp. 223–256.Google Scholar
Tilley, J. M. A. and Terry, R. A. 1963. A two-stage technique for the in vitro digestion of forage crops. Journal of the British Grassland Society 18: 104–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Bockstaele, E. J., Behaeghe, T. J. and De Baets, A. E. 1980. Studies on the field losses of wilting grass. In Forage Conservation in the 80's (ed. Thomas, C.), Occasional Symposium of the British Grassland Society, No. 11, pp. 205–209.Google Scholar
Wilkinson, J. M. 1981. Losses in the conservation and utilisation of grass and forage crops. Annals of Applied Biology 98: 365–375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zimmer, E. and Wilkins, R. J. 1984. Efficiency of silage systems. A comparison between unwilted and wilted silages. Landbauforschung Volkenrode, Sonderheft 69.Google Scholar