Abstract
Relatively little is known about the combined effects of rain damage and spontaneous heating on the storage characteristics and nutritive value of tall fescue ( Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) hay. Objectives were to assess effects of these variables in five management situations. ‘Kentucky 31’ tall fescue infested with the fungal endophyte ( Neotyphodium coenophialum [Morgan-Jones & Glenn, Bacon, and Hamlin comb. nov.]) was packaged in conventional rectangular bales at 99 g/kg (low, L), 164 g/kg (ideal, I), and 225 g/kg (high, H) of moisture prior to rainfall, and at 246 g/kg of moisture after a 23 mm rainfall event (H–R) and at 93 g/kg of moisture after a total accumulation of 72 mm of rain (L–R). Concentrations of neutral-detergent fiber (NDF), acid-detergent fiber (ADF), and lignin immediately after baling increased ( P≤0.017) with rain damage, but concentrations of total N and fiber-associated N components were little affected. Immediately after baling, the in situ dry matter (DM) disappearance for L–R hay was 32–44 g/kg lower ( P=0.0001) than observed for hays baled without rain damage. After a 40–45-day storage period, L and I hays had a 31–36 g/kg advantage for in situ DM disappearance over hays damaged by spontaneous heating (H), rainfall (L–R), or both (H–R). Generally, the effects of a single 23 mm rainfall event on the nutritive value of tall fescue hay was relatively small, but damage increased substantially with multiple rainfall events.
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