Silages made from directly cut or wilted Digitaria eriantha treated with or without molasses were evaluated to determine fermentative characteristics. The grass was harvested at the boot stage of growth and the material was ensiled in 1 kg mini-silos. Treatments were arranged in a factorial design of two moisture levels (directly cut or wilted) and two molasses addition (with or without molasse...

The role of moisture absorptive capacity of pre-silage material and its relationship with silage effluent in high moisture by-product feedstuffs (HMBF) is assessed. The term water retention capacity which is sometimes used in explaining the rate of effluent control in ensilage may be inadequate, since it accounts exclusively for the capacity of an absorbent incorporated into a pre-silage materi...

The two greatest silage problems are shrinkage (dry matter losses) and heating (aerobic spoilage). Therefore, one of the main aims of silage making is to reduce losses of dry matter during the preservation process. Dry matter losses occur during the three main stages of silage preservation namely the aerobic respiration stage after cutting, the anaerobic fermentation stage after sealing, and th...

This study tested the hypothesis that the easily degradable carbohydrates of the sugar beet silage (S) will improve the anaerobic digestion of grass silage (G) more profoundly compared to co-digestion of sugar beet silage with maize silage (M). M : S and G : S mixtures were tested in two continuous laboratory-scale AD experiments at volatile solid ratios of 1 : 0, 6 : 1, 3 : 1, and 1 : 3 at org...

Corn hybrids for silage vary in yield and several quality traits that affect farm profitability, which is the prime criterion on which hybrids should be ranked. The partial budget approach is the only way to rank corn hybrids for silage for individual farms according to their effects on farm profits. Partial budgets consider only those costs and returns that change in response to the corn hybri...

From preliminary studies of the feeding value for mediumwool Merino wethers of various samples of sorghum silage, the following points emerge : 1. Mature silage, in addition to being moderately unpalatable, had a low level of digestible protein, a variable digestible crude fibre and a high mineral content. In spite of the latter, most sheep had negative mineral balances. A feature of the ash co...

and Implications Because treatment with calcium oxide (CaO) will increase the digestibility of corn stover, CaO-treated corn stover may be a cost-effective alternative to a portion of corn grain in beef feedlot diets. Single-pass harvested corn stover was ensiled either untreated or treated with 5% CaO on a dry matter (DM) basis. Ground baled stover, untreated stover silage, or CaO-treated stov...

1. Two experiments were conducted to study the digestion of nitrogenous constituents in the rumen, small intestine and caecum and colon of sheep given diets of grass silage or grass silage and barley. Three silages were used. One was made from first-harvest grass in the spring and the other from regrowth grass cut in either early autumn or late autumn. All were of perennial ryegrass (Lolium pe...

This experiment aimed to quantify the methane emissions and intake, digestibility, performance, and carcass characteristics of finishing beef cattle offered maize (Zea mays) silages harvested at 1 of 4 sequential stages of maturity and to relate these values to those obtained from animals offered an ad libitum concentrate-based diet. Sixty continental crossbred steers with a mean initial BW of ...

Rumen characteristics and digestive kinetics of brown midrib corn silage were evaluated with five late-lactation (221 DIM +/- 20 d) multiparous cows fitted with ruminal and duodenal cannula. Dietary treatments were applied by using a single reversal design with two 21-d periods where either brown midrib (BM3) or isogenic (ISO) corn silage were included in a total mixed ration formulated to be 4...