5 Nutritive value and fermentation characteristics of cool-season annual baleage

Abstract

Abstract Baleage production is gaining popularity in the Southeast due to the ability for more timely harvests and more consistent forage quality compared with hay. The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of cool-season mixtures for baleage production. Wheat (Triticum aestivum) with T-Raptor (Brassica rapa × napus; WT) or crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum; WC) were planted at the E.V. Smith Research Center in Shorter, AL, as a 2 × 2 factorial design (n = 3). Forage was treated or un-treated with silage inoculant to determine its efficacy in promoting proper fermentation. Samples were taken at 7 different time intervals to determine fermentation characteristics and quality. There was no difference (P ≥ 0.15) in ADF concentration among treatments, but day 120 after ensiling was greater (P ≤ 0.002) than all other sampling dates. There was no difference (P ≥ 0.11) in NDF between forages, silage inoculants, or among days and averaged 50.75 %. The CP of the WC treatment was greater (P ≤ 0.0001) than WT by 3.6 units. Inoculated forage was greater (P ≤ 0.0001) than non-inoculated by 1.06 units. Crude protein was greater (P = 0.005) on day 120 than day 0. Inoculated WT had greater (P < 0.0001) total acid content than non-inoculated (8.35 vs. 6.19 %, respectively). Wheat+clover had 1.5 units more total acid than WT. Inoculated forage had greater (P ≤ 0.0006) total acid present than non-inoculated forage. Butyric acid concentration increased (P ≤ 0.0001) with increasing days after ensiling. Butyric acid tended to be greater (P = 0.05) in WC than WT, likely due to increased pH in clover treatments as a result of legume buffering capacity. The results indicate that silage inoculants offer minimal benefits to baleage fermentation when using cool-season annual mixtures