Key Points of Simple Cultivation Technique for Whole-plant Silage Maize in Guangxi

With the vigorous development of animal husbandry in Guangxi,feed problems have become increasingly prominent.Silage maize has the characteristics of rapid growth,high nutritional value,easy digestion and absorption,and a large amount of biological output being obtained in a short time.It is one of the ideal basic feeds for cattle and sheep and other breeding industries.Based on this,the simple cultivation technique of whole-plant silage maize was summarized from the aspects of land preparation,selection of maize variety,sowing,field management,pest control and timely harvesting,so as to provide technical reference for scientific planting of silage maize in Guangxi.

Optimization design and experiment on feeding and chopping device of silage maize harvester

Horizontal feeding devices and plate hob chopping devices are the key component of silage maize harvester.To solve the problem of feeding blockage,reduce energy consumption,and improve the chopping quality of the chopping device a horizontal different diameter five-rollers device(HDDFD)was designed and the plate hob chopping device was simultaneously optimized and analyzed.Through the dynamic analysis,the feeding conveying speed was determined to be 2.0-4.5 m/s.The distance equation of the actual and theoretical cutting-edge curve and the position of the fixed blade were finally obtained.Single factor and response surface orthogonal tests in the bench site were carried out with feeding speed,rotating speed of chopping cylinder,feeding amount,and feeding direction as influencing factors,standard grass length rate(SGLR),and energy consumption per unit mass(ECPUM)as evaluation indexes.The optimal working parameters for chopping performance could be concluded as a feeding speed of 3.39 m/s,rotating speed of the chopping cylinder of 1016.17 r/min,feeding amount of 8.04 kg/s,and feeding direction of 52.2°.In addition,the SGLR and ECPUM were obtained as 95.35%and 37.63 kJ/kg,respectively.The relative error between the experimental results with round parameter combination and the predicted value was verified to be less than 5%.Field tests verified the reliability of the optimized feeding and chopping device.It can be seen that the HDDFD and optimized plate hob chopping device can meet the requirements of mechanized silage harvesting which obviously improves the working quality and reduce the energy consumption of chopping.

Effects of Maize Silage Harvest Stage on Growth Performance and Economic Benefits of Beef Cattle

[Objectives]This study aimed to investigate the effects of whole-crop maize silage harvested at different stages on growth and economic benefits of beef cattle.[Methods]A total of 30 Simmental crossbred cattle weighing about 378 kg were randomly divided into three groups,respectively fed for 70 days with whole-crop maize silage harvested at milk stage(GroupⅠ),dough stage(GroupⅡ)and physiological maturity stage(GroupⅢ).Moreover,the cattle in all groups were given the same concentrate diet.[Results]There were significant differences in dry matter,crude protein and neutral detergent fiber between whole-crop maize silages harvested at different stages(P<0.05).The dry matter in GroupⅡandⅢwas significantly higher than that in GroupⅠ(P<0.05).The crude protein content peaked in GroupⅡ,up to 6.37%,which was significantly higher than that in GroupⅠ(by 12.74%,P<0.05)and GroupⅢ(by 9.26%,P<0.05).Starch content significantly increased with the postponing of maize harvest(P<0.05).The content of neutral detergent fiber in Group I was significantly higher than that in GroupⅡ(P<0.05)and GroupⅢ(P<0.05).The average daily weight gain in GroupⅡwas 8.53%higher than that in GroupⅠ(P<0.05)and 3.70%higher than that in GroupⅢ(P>0.05).The dry matter intake in GroupⅡwas significantly higher than that in GroupⅠ(P<0.05)and GroupⅢ(P<0.05).There was no significant difference in feed/gain ratio between the groups(P>0.05).The economic benefit in GroupⅡwas the highest,up to 9.99 yuan/day per capita.,followed by that in GroupⅢ,9.79 yuan/day per capita,and that in GroupⅠwas the lowest,only 8.03 yuan/day per capita.[Conclusions]The whole-crop maize silage harvested at dough stage has the best quality and produces the highest economic returns for beef cattle.

Yield and quality properties of silage maize and their influencing factors in China

Silage maize(Zea mays L.) is one of the most important forages in the world, and its yield and quality properties are critical parameters for livestock production and assessment of forage values. However, relationships between its yield and quality properties and the controlling factors are not well documented. In this study, we collected 5,663 observations from 196 publications across the country to identify the relationships between yield and quality properties of silage maize and to assess the impact of management practices and climatic factors on its yield and quality in China. The average dry matter yield of silage maize was(19.98±6.93) Mg ha^(-1), and the average value of crude protein, ether extract, crude ash, crude fiber, acid detergent fiber, neutral detergent fiber, nitrogen-free extract, and relative feed value was 7.86%±1.71%, 2.53%±1.01%, 5.05%±1.66%,23.97%±6.34%, 27.62%±7.12%, 51.60%±9.85%, 59.68%±7.72%, and 131.17±31.49, respectively. In general, its nutritive value decreased as its yield increased. Increasing planting density could increase the yield but inhibit the nutritive values, while increasing fertilization could benefit the nutritive values. Geographically, the yield increased and the nutritive value decreased from warm(south) to cold(north) regions. The length of growth duration was a major controlling factor for the patterns of these properties. Our findings provide insights for police-makers to make strategy for achieving high yield and good quality of silage maize and help local people to implement better management practices.

Chemical composition and in vitro fermentation characteristics of high sugar forage sorghum as an alternative to forage maize for silage making in Tarim Basin, China

The chemical composition, mineral profile and in vitro fermentation characteristics of maize （MZ）, high sugar forage sorghum （HS） and forage sorghum （FS）, and silages made from each forage type were measured. The MZ and MZ silage （MZS） had higher crude protein, starch and ether extract contents than both sorghum forages and sorghum silages. HS had higher ash and water-soluble carbohydrate concentrations than FS and MZ. MZ, MZS, HS and HS silage （HSS） had lower neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre and acid detergent lignin than FS and FS silage （FSS）. FSS had higher dry matter （DM） and pH than MZS and HSS. HSS contained higher concentrations of P and K than FSS and MZS. MZS and HSS had higher in vitro dry matter and organic matter digestibility, CH4 production, total volatile fatty acids, acetate and propionate than FSS. pH was higher for FSS than for HSS, and ammonia was lower for HSS than for MZS and FSS. HSS had higher gas production than MZS and FSS after 2, 4, 6 and 8 h incubation. MZS had higher gas production than HSS and FSS after 26 and 28 h of incubation. The results indicate that HS may substitute for MZ to make good quality silage. However, animal studies are needed to assess the acceptability and feeding values of HSS vs. MZS for ruminant production.

Influence of feeding crimped kernel maize silage on the course of subclinical necrotic enteritis in a broiler disease model

This experiment was carried out with 375 male broilers(Ross 308) from days 1 to 28 to evaluate the influence of crimped kernel maize silage(CKMS) on the manifestation of subclinical necrotic enteritis,microbiota counts, organic acid production and relative weights of gastrointestinal segments. A necrotic enteritis disease model was applied. Birds were allocated into 3 different dietary treatments: a maizebased feed(MBF, control diet), and 2 diets supplemented with 15%(CKMS15) or 30%(CKMS30) of crimped ensiled kernel maize. The disease model involved a 10-time overdose of an attenuated live vaccine against coccidiosis given orally on day 17, followed by oral inoculation of Clostridium perfringens Type A(S48,10~8 to 10~9 bacteria/bird) twice daily on days 18,19, 20 and 21. Scoring of intestinal lesions was performed on days 22, 23, 25 and 28. Ileal and caecal digesta samples were collected for the quantification of selected bacterial groups and organic acids. The results showed that there was no effect of dietary treatments on small intestinal lesion scores(P> 0.05). Lesions scores peaked on days 23 and 25 and decreased again on day 28(P = 0.001). No effect of age on microbiota counts was observed, but feeding of CKMS30 reduced the number of coliforms in ileal contents(P = 0.01). Dietary treatments did not affect organic acid concentrations in ileum and caeca, but there was an effect of age; butyric acid was higher on days 22, 23 and 25 than on day 28(P = 0.04). Acetic acid and propionic acid concentrations in caeca were the highest on days 22 and 28 but the lowest on days 23 and 25. Relative gizzard and caeca weights were increased, and relative ileum weights were decreased when birds were fed CKMS30(P < 0.05). In conclusion, the inclusion of CKMS in broiler diets had no effects on the course of necrotic enteritis but had potential benefits in terms of inhibition of potentially harmful microorganisms.

Effects of moisture content or particle size on the in situ degradability of maize silage and alfalfa haylage in lactating dairy cows

A study using four Holstein cows with ruminal cannulas was conducted to evaluate the degradability of different moisture content or particle size of maize silage and alfalfa haylage. The maize silage(MS; 20-mm length) and alfalfa haylage(AH; 40-mm length) samples were wet(wet maize silage, MSW;wet alfalfa haylage, AHW), dried(dried maize silage, MSD; dried alfalfa haylage, AHD), or ground to pass through a 2.5-mm screen(dried ground maize silage, MSG; dried ground alfalfa haylage, AHG). Samples were incubated in the rumen for 2, 6.12, 24.36.48, and 72 h. Cows were fed ad libitum and allowed free access to water. High moisture content treatment of MSW expressed a lower rinsing NDF and ADF degradability at 2 h(P < 0.05) compared with dried samples(MSD and MSG). Different moisture content and particle size had a significant impact(P < 0.05) on the NDF degradability at 72 h, ADF degradability at36.48, and 72 h, and ruminally degradable ADF. All of the highest values were observed in small particle size and low moisture content AHG treatment. Based on this study, sample processing, such as drying and grinding, should be considered when evaluating nutritive values of forages.