Evaluation of alfalfa inter-seeding effect on bahiagrass baleage fermentation and lactating Holstein performance

Background：Previous research indicates that bahiagrass may be successfully conserved as baleage,but nutritive value is typically low for lactating dairy cows.The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of adding modest amounts of alfalfa forage（22%）,achieved by inter-seeding alfalfa into an existing bahiagrass pasture,on baleage nutritive value and lactation performance of Holstein cows.Forage treatments employed were monoculture bahiagrass baleage（MBB;negative control）,bahiagrass-alfalfa mixture baleage（BAB） and conventional corn silage（CCS;positive control）.Thirty six mid lactation Holstein cows[34.8 ±5.8 kg 3.5%fat-corrected milk and 112 ± 19 d in milk（DIM）]were stratified according to milk yield and DIM and assigned randomly to 1 of 3 forage treatments.Cows were trained to Calan feeding gates and were offered a common CCS-based TMR in a 10-d covariance period followed by a 42-d treatment feeding period.Results：The BAB contained more protein and less NDF than MBB（12.6 vs 10.3%CP and 71.8 vs 76.6%NDF）.Diet DMI was similar for MBB and BAB（19.5 vs 21.6 kg/hd/d）,but cows consumed more of the CCS diet（25.5 kg/hd/d）than either baleage-based diet.Cows offered BAB tended to produce more milk than cows offered MBB based TMR（28.4 vs 26.1 kg/hd/d）,but both baleage diets generated less milk than CCS-based diets（33.1 kg/hd/d）.Milk cumpusition was similar across diets except for milk protein concentrations which were higher tor CCS than either MBB or BAB diets;however,milk urea nitrogen（MUN） was lowest for cows fed CCS diets.Cow BW gain was higher for BAB than MBB implying that a portion of the higher energy contributed by the alfalfa was being used to replenish weight on these mid lactation cows.Conclusions：Data from this study indicate that alfalfa inter-seeded in bahiagrass sod that produces BAB with as little as 22%alfalfa may improve nutritive value compared to monoculture bahiagrass baleage and marginally improve lactation performance of Holstein cows.However,the CCS diet was vastly superior to either MBB or BAB-based diets for milk production.

Evaluation of nutritive value and in vitro rumen fermentation gas accumulation of de-oiled algal residues

Background：Algae are widely recognized for their high oil content and for exponentially accumulating biomass with particular potential to provide single cell protein for human consumption or animal feed.It is believed that along with biodiesel from algae,the high protein de-oiled algal residue may become an alternative feed supplement option in the future.This study was conducted to investigate de-oiled algal residue obtained from the common Chlorella species,Thalassiosira weissflogii,Selenarstrum capricornutum,Scenedesmus sp.,and Scenedesmus dimorphus for assessment as potential feed supplements for ruminants by comparing with soybean（Glycine max） meal and alfalfa（Medicago sativa） hay.Results：With the exception of T.weissflogii,algal residue had higher concentrations of Cu,Zn,and Mn and lower concentration of Ca,Mg,and K than soybean meal and alfalfa hay.The algal residue CP（crude protein）concentrations ranged from 140 to 445 g/kg DM and varied among the de-oiled residues.In vitro rumen fermentation gas accumulation curves indicated that algal biomass degradation potential was less than that of soybean meal or alfalfa hay by up to 41.7%.The gas production curve,interpreted with a dual pool logistic model,confirmed that the fraction sizes for fast fermenting and slow fermenting of de-oiled algal residues were smaller than those in soybean meal and alfalfa hay,and the fermenting rate of the fractions was also low.Conclusions：Inferior in vitro rumen gas accumulation from the five de-oiled algal residues suggests that these algal byproducts are less degradable in the rumen.