Comparative assessment of the nutritional value of feed from rare silage crops

Abstract

Relevance. The article is devoted to the study of the nutritional and energy value of feed from perennial rare silage crops — goatʼs rue eastern and pierced leaf sylphia, ways to improve the quality of their silage using low-cost methods of conservation.Methods. The research was carried out in 2019–2021 at the Gubino agricultural polygon of VNIIMZ (Tver region). Highly productive silage crops were studied: eastern goat, freshly mown eastern goat, plus meadow fescue (60:40%); eastern goat, plus pronzennolistnaya silfia (60:40%); eastern goat, slightly dried; pronzennolistnaya silfia; pronzennolistnaya silfia plus otava eastern goat (60:40%); corn plus from the eastern goat (60:40%); corn (control). The area of the experiment is 6.1 hectares, the placement of options is randomized, in three tiers, the repetition is three-fold, the use is twoaxis.Results. The preparation of high-quality silage from perennial, uncommon silage crops requires special technological methods: the choice of the vegetation phase in which the culture has the optimal ratio of nutrients, the use of carbohydrate additives, and wilting of the mass. In the course of the research, silage samples from all varieties of crops and grass mixtures were analyzed in a comparative aspect. It was found that the total content of organic acids in the silage was high (1.68– 3.22%). Lactic acid fermentation prevailed in all variants, which ensured the production of silage of the 1st class. The largest share of lactic acid (more than 80%) falls on silage from the eastern goat, silfia pronzennolistnaya and corn. The concentration of the exchange energy was highest in the silage from the eastern goat (11.8 MJ/kg), a mixture of goat and meadow fescue (11.1 MJ/kg), silfia pronzennolistnaya (10.9 MJ/kg) and the joint silage of the silfia with the otava of the goat (10.8 MJ/kg) of dry matter (SV), respectively (the significance of the differences is p < 0.05).