Effect of ammonium carbamate on nutritive and preservative characteristics of high-moisture coastal bermudagrass hay.

Abstract

Two studies evaluated the effects of ammonium carbamate (AC) on preservation and digestibility of high-moisture (HM) Coastal bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) hay. A 3 X 7 factorial arrangement of treatments in a completely random design was used to estimate the efficacy of AC in laboratory conditions. Treatments were 25, 30, or 35% moisture (M) forage treated with levels (L) of 0, 1.14, 2.28, 3.42, 4.56, 5.70, or 6.84% AC. Nitrogen in forage increased (P less than .01) linearly due to M and L. There was a linear decrease (P less than .01) in ADF N due to M. Neutral detergent fiber decreased (P less than .01) linearly as M increased and increased (P less than .01) linearly with increased L. Acid detergent fiber decreased (P less than .01) linearly due to L. There was an M X L interaction (P less than .01) for hemicellulose (HC) concentrations and total aerobic fungal counts. The digestibility of HM hay treated with a product (ACNH) containing 57% AC was compared to that of untreated hay (UH) and UH plus urea (UHU) when fed to lambs (four lambs per treatment). Digestibility of NDF and hemicellulose (P less than .01) and ADF (P less than .05) was increased for ACNH forage compared with UH or UHU. Ammonium carbamate seems to be beneficial for preserving HM forage, and an admixture containing ammonium carbamate is effective for increasing the digestibility of Coastal bermudagrass hay.