Review article
https://doi.org/10.5513/JCEA01/23.2.3504
The effect of maize crop cutting height and the maturity at harvest on maize silage chemical composition and fermentation quality in silo
Sara KOLAR
orcid.org/0000-0003-0279-6455
; Student at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, Svetošimunska cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Marina VRANIĆ
orcid.org/0000-0001-6280-0116
; University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Field Crops, Forage and Grassland, Svetošimunska cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Lucija BOŽIĆ
; Student at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, Svetošimunska cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Krešimir BOŠNJAK
; University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Field Crops, Forage and Grassland, Svetošimunska cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Maize silage (MS) has become one of the major energy components in ruminant nutrition. The maize crop is suitable for ensiling and is of high dry matter (DM) yield and nutritive value. The aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the effect of cutting height and maize crop maturity at harvest on the chemical composition of MS and fermentation quality in a silo. With an increase in cutting height and maize crop maturity, the content of dry matter (DM) in MS increases to about 400 g DM/kg of fresh crop, after which it does not change, crude protein (CP) CP content increases or remains the same, the ash content decreases or remains the same, starch content increases, and the content of neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) decreases or remains the same. The cutting height and maize crop maturity at harvest have no effect on pH value, lactic, acetic neither butyric acid but increases the amount of ethanol and decreases the ammonium nitrogen (NH3-N) in MS.
Keywords
maize plant ensiling; silage quality
Hrčak ID:
279680
URI
Publication date:
27.6.2022.
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