Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T01:59:51.331Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Effects of nitrogen fertilisation rate and maturity of grass silage on methane emission by lactating dairy cows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 August 2015

D. Warner
Affiliation:
Animal Nutrition Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 338, 6700AH Wageningen, The Netherlands
B. Hatew
Affiliation:
Animal Nutrition Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 338, 6700AH Wageningen, The Netherlands
S. C. Podesta
Affiliation:
Animal Nutrition Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 338, 6700AH Wageningen, The Netherlands
G. Klop
Affiliation:
Animal Nutrition Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 338, 6700AH Wageningen, The Netherlands
S. van Gastelen
Affiliation:
Animal Nutrition Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 338, 6700AH Wageningen, The Netherlands
H. van Laar
Affiliation:
Animal Nutrition Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 338, 6700AH Wageningen, The Netherlands Nutreco R&D, PO Box 220, 5830AE Boxmeer, The Netherlands
J. Dijkstra
Affiliation:
Animal Nutrition Group, Wageningen University, PO Box 338, 6700AH Wageningen, The Netherlands
A. Bannink*
Affiliation:
Animal Nutrition, Wageningen UR Livestock Research, PO Box 338, 6700AH Wageningen, The Netherlands
*
Get access

Abstract

Grass silage is typically fed to dairy cows in temperate regions. However, in vivo information on methane (CH4) emission from grass silage of varying quality is limited. We evaluated the effect of two rates of nitrogen (N) fertilisation of grassland (low fertilisation (LF), 65 kg of N/ha; and high fertilisation (HF), 150 kg of N/ha) and of three stages of maturity of grass at cutting: early maturity (EM; 28 days of regrowth), mid maturity (MM; 41 days of regrowth) and late maturity (LM; 62 days of regrowth) on CH4 production by lactating dairy cows. In a randomised block design, 54 lactating Holstein–Friesian dairy cows (168±11 days in milk; mean±standard error of mean) received grass silage (mainly ryegrass) and compound feed at 80 : 20 on dry matter basis. Cows were adapted to the diet for 12 days and CH4 production was measured in climate respiration chambers for 5 days. Dry matter intake (DMI; 14.9±0.56 kg/day) decreased with increasing N fertilisation and grass maturity. Production of fat- and protein-corrected milk (FPCM; 24.0±1.57 kg/day) decreased with advancing grass maturity but was not affected by N fertilisation. Apparent total-tract feed digestibility decreased with advancing grass maturity but was unaffected by N fertilisation except for an increase and decrease in N and fat digestibility with increasing N fertilisation, respectively. Total CH4 production per cow (347±13.6 g/day) decreased with increasing N fertilisation by 4% and grass maturity by 6%. The smaller CH4 production with advancing grass maturity was offset by a smaller FPCM and lower feed digestibility. As a result, with advancing grass maturity CH4 emission intensity increased per units of FPCM (15.0±1.00 g CH4/kg) by 31% and digestible organic matter intake (33.1±0.78 g CH4/kg) by 15%. In addition, emission intensity increased per units of DMI (23.5±0.43 g CH4/kg) by 7% and gross energy intake (7.0±0.14% CH4) by 9%, implying an increased loss of dietary energy with advancing grass maturity. Rate of N fertilisation had no effect on CH4 emissions per units of FPCM, DMI and gross energy intake. These results suggest that despite a lower absolute daily CH4 production with a higher N fertilisation rate, CH4 emission intensity remains unchanged. A significant reduction of CH4 emission intensity can be achieved by feeding dairy cows silage of grass harvested at an earlier stage of maturity.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium 2015 

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

Abrahamse, PA, Dijkstra, J, Vlaeminck, B and Tamminga, S 2008. Frequent allocation of rotationally grazed dairy cows changes grazing behavior and improves productivity. Journal of Dairy Science 91, 20332045.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bannink, A, Smits, MCJ, Kebreab, E, Mills, JAN, Ellis, JL, Klop, A, France, J and Dijkstra, J 2010. Simulating the effects of grassland management and grass ensiling on methane emission from lactating cows. The Journal of Agricultural Science 148, 5572.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Binnie, RC, Kilpatrick, DJ and Chestnutt, DMB 1997. Effect of altering the length of the regrowth interval in early, mid and late season on the productivity of grass swards. The Journal of Agricultural Science 128, 303309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boadi, D, Benchaar, C, Chiquette, J and Massé, D 2004. Mitigation strategies to reduce enteric methane emissions from dairy cows: update review. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 84, 319335.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boadi, DA and Wittenberg, KM 2002. Methane production from dairy and beef heifers fed forages differing in nutrient density using the sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) tracer gas technique. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 82, 201206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brask, M, Lund, P, Hellwing, ALF, Poulsen, M and Weisbjerg, MR 2013. Enteric methane production, digestibility and rumen fermentation in dairy cows fed different forages with and without rapeseed fat supplementation. Animal Feed Science and Technology 184, 6779.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, JL, Kebreab, E, Odongo, NE, McBride, BW, Okine, EK and France, J 2007. Prediction of methane production from dairy and beef cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 90, 34563466.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Farra, PA and Satter, LD 1971. Manipulation of the ruminal fermentation. III. Effect of nitrate on ruminal volatile fatty acid production and milk composition. Journal of Dairy Science 54, 10181024.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerber, P, Vellinga, T, Opio, C, Henderson, B and Steinfeld, H 2010. Greenhouse gas emissions from the dairy sector – a life cycle assessment. Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Animal Production and Health Division, Rome, Italy.Google Scholar
Hammond, KJ, Muetzel, S, Waghorn, GG, Pinares-Patiño, CS, Burke, JL and Hoskin, SO 2009. The variation in methane emissions from sheep and cattle is not explained by the chemical composition of ryegrass. Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 69, 174178.Google Scholar
Hart, KJ, Martin, PG, Foley, PA, Kenny, DA and Boland, TM 2009. Effect of sward dry matter digestibility on methane production, ruminal fermentation, and microbial populations of zero-grazed beef cattle. Journal of Animal Science 87, 33423350.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heeren, JAH, Podesta, SC, Hatew, B, Klop, G, van Laar, H, Bannink, A, Warner, D, de Jonge, LH and Dijkstra, J 2014. Rumen degradation characteristics of ryegrass herbage and ryegrass silage are affected by interactions between stage of maturity and nitrogen fertilization level. Animal Production Science 54, 12631267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hristov, AN, Oh, J, Firkins, JL, Dijkstra, J, Kebreab, E, Waghorn, G, Makkar, HPS, Adesogan, A, Yang, W, Lee, C, Gerber, PJ, Henderson, B and Tricarico, J 2013. Mitigation of methane and nitrous oxide emissions from animal operations: I. A review of enteric methane mitigation options. Journal of Animal Science 91, 50455069.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2008. Climate Change 2007: Synthesis report. Contribution of working group I, II, and III to the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland.Google Scholar
International Organization for Standardization 1998. ISO 9831:1998. Animal feeding stuffs, animal products, and faeces or urine – determination of gross calorific value – Bomb calorimeter method. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland.Google Scholar
International Organization for Standardization 1999. ISO 9622:1999. Whole milk – determination of milkfat, protein and lactose content – guidance on the operation of mid-infrared instruments. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland.Google Scholar
Johnson, KA and Johnson, DE 1995. Methane emissions from cattle. Journal of Animal Science 73, 24832492.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Montes, F, Meinen, R, Dell, C, Rotz, A, Hristov, AN, Oh, J, Waghorn, G, Gerber, PJ, Henderson, B, Makkar, HPS and Dijkstra, J 2013. Mitigation of methane and nitrous oxide emissions from animal operations: II. A review of manure management mitigation options. Journal of Animal Science 91, 50705094.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Navarro-Villa, A, O’Brien, M, López, S, Boland, TM and O’Kiely, P 2011. In vitro rumen methane output of red clover and perennial ryegrass assayed using the gas production technique (GPT). Animal Feed Science and Technology 168, 152164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pellikaan, WF, Verstegen, MWA, Tamminga, S, Dijkstra, J and Hendriks, WH 2013. δ 13C as a marker to study digesta passage kinetics in ruminants: a combined in vivo and in vitro study. Animal 7, 754767.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pinares-Patiño, CS, Baumont, R and Martin, C 2003. Methane emissions by Charolais cows grazing a monospecific pasture of timothy at four stages of maturity. Canadian Journal of Animal Science 83, 769777.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Searle, PL 1984. The berthelot or indophenol reaction and its use in the analytical chemistry of nitrogen. A review. Analyst 109, 549568.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van Gastelen, S, Antunes-Fernandes, EC, Hettinga, KA, Klop, G, Alferink, SJJ, Hendriks, WH and Dijkstra, J 2015. Enteric methane production, rumen volatile fatty acid concentrations, and milk fatty acid composition in lactating Holstein-Friesian cows fed grass silage- or corn silage-based diets. Journal of Dairy Science 98, 19151927.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Middelaar, CE, Dijkstra, J, Berentsen, PBM and De Boer, IJM 2014. Cost-effectiveness of feeding strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from dairy farming. Journal of Dairy Science 97, 24272439.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van Zijderveld, SM, Gerrits, WJJ, Apajalahti, JA, Newbold, JR, Dijkstra, J, Leng, RA and Perdok, HB 2010. Nitrate and sulfate: effective alternative hydrogen sinks for mitigation of ruminal methane production in sheep. Journal of Dairy Science 93, 58565866.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van Zijderveld, SM, Gerrits, WJJ, Dijkstra, J, Newbold, JR, Hulshof, RBA and Perdok, HB 2011. Persistency of methane mitigation by dietary nitrate supplementation in dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 94, 40284038.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Warner, D, Dijkstra, J, Hendriks, WH and Pellikaan, WF 2013a. Passage kinetics of 13C-labeled corn silage components through the gastrointestinal tract of dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 96, 58445858.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Warner, D, Dijkstra, J, Hendriks, WH and Pellikaan, WF 2013b. Passage of stable isotope-labeled grass silage fiber and fiber-bound protein through the gastrointestinal tract of dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 96, 79047917.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Warner, D, Podesta, SC, Hatew, B, Klop, G, van Laar, H, Bannink, A and Dijkstra, J 2015. Effect of nitrogen fertilization rate and regrowth interval of grass herbage on methane emission of zero-grazing lactating dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 98, 33833393.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed