Original scientific paper
MAIZE SILAGE SUPPLEMENTATION TO GRASS SILAGE INCREASES NITROGEN UTILISATION IN WETHER SHEEP
Marina Vranić
orcid.org/0000-0001-6280-0116
; Agronomski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
G. Perčulija
; Agronomski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
K. Bošnja
; Agronomski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
J. Leto
; Agronomski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
H. Kutnjak
; Agronomski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
I. Vnučec
; Agronomski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Petra Hajredini
; Agronomski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Abstract
The objective of this experiment was to study the effects of maize silage (MS) supplementation (Zea mays L.) to grass silage (GS) harvested at three stages of maturity on nitrogen (N) utilisation in wether sheep. GS dominated by orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) (80%) was harvested at three maturity stages of orchardgrass: late vegetative (GS1), internode elongation (GS2) and flowering growth stage (GS3). The study consisted of ten feeding treatments incorporating GS1, GS2, GS3 and MS fed alone and forage mixtures of GS1, GS2, GS3 and MS (67 or 33% dry matter (DM) basis).
DM concentrations in GS1, GS2 and GS3 were 396, 408 i 463 g kg-1 fresh sample, respectively. Delayed harvesting lowered (P<0.05) the crude protein (CP) concentration in GS2 compared to GS1 and in GS3 compared to GS2, while increased neutral detergent fibre (NDF) (P<0.05) and acid detergent fibre (ADF) concentration (P<0.001). The DM content (g kg-1fresh sample) and starch concentration (g kg-1 DM) of MS were 264 and 211, respectively. Inclusion of MS (33 or 67%) into grass silage based ration (GS1, GS2 and GS3) had positive linear (P<0.01) and positive associative effect (quadratic, P<0.01) on N intake as well as positive associative effect (quadratic, P< 0.05) on N utilisation in wether sheep.
Keywords
maize silage; grass silage; nitrogen utilisation
Hrčak ID:
76739
URI
Publication date:
15.10.2011.
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