Abstract
Simple SummaryIn Inner Mongolia, developing innovative forages is an indispensable way to ease the shortage of animal feed. Oxytropis glabra (OG) has become a dominant population, with a high nature yield in the degraded grassland of Inner Mongolia. As a typical legume, it is rich in amino acids and trace elements, so using OG to feed livestock is a valuable strategy. However, it contains swainsonine (SW), which hinders the utilization of OG. This study was conducted to evaluate silage fermentation and SW removal from OG ensiled with whole-plant corn at different proportions, and the result showed ensiling a mixture of OG and corn could be a valuable approach for producing livestock feed, as it had a positive effect on fermentation quality and SW detoxification; the optimal ratio was 1:1. In the silages, Lactobacillus plantarum was the most common microorganism present in all mixture silages, and Lactobacillus amylovorus and Lactobacillus brevis were prevalent at lower ratios of corn to OG. All representative strains were able to remove SW from OG fermentation, and the strains of L. amylovorus and L. plantarum had a higher SW removal rate. These mixtures of silages could make OG useable as a feed source in ruminant production.Oxytropis glabra (OG) is a leguminous forage that is potentially valuable for solving the shortage of feed for livestock production, while, in large quantities, it may be toxic because of its swainsonine (SW) content. In this study, OG was ensiled with whole-plant corn (Zea mays L.) at 10:0, 9:1, 8:2, 7:3, 6:4, 5:5, 4:6, and 0:10 ratios on a fresh matter basis, and, after 60 d of ensiling, the chemical composition, fermentation characteristic, SW removal rate, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) populations, and their capabilities for SW removal were analyzed. As the proportion of corn in the silage increased, the pH, as well as the propionic acid, ammonia-N, dry matter, crude protein, and SW contents, decreased linearly, while the lactic acid, neutral detergent fiber, and residual water-soluble carbohydrate contents increased linearly. Lactobacillus plantarum was the most common microorganism present in all mixture silages. Lactobacillus amylovorus and Lactobacillus brevis were prevalent at lower ratios of corn to OG. Meanwhile, the LAB strains belong to L. amylovorus and L. plantarum had a higher SW removal rate. Our results suggested that ensiling OG with whole-plant corn improves fermentation and decreases SW content, and that 5:5 is the optimal ratio, so this type of mixed silage could make OG useable for ruminant production.
Highlights
Animal husbandry has always been a leading industry in western Inner Mongolia, and the number of livestock has reached around 126 million in recent years
After 60 d of ensiling, the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) populations reached 6.16–6.97 log10 cfu/g fresh matter (FM), the coliform bacteria and mold populations declined below the detection limits, and there was no notable difference in the LAB, aerobic bacteria, and yeast populations among all mixture silages (p > 0.05)
The fresh whole-plant corn contained 5.64 log10 cfu/g FM of LAB and relatively lower number of aerobic bacteria compared with the Oxytropis glabra (OG), which was sufficient for improving the silage quality
Summary
Animal husbandry has always been a leading industry in western Inner Mongolia, and the number of livestock has reached around 126 million in recent years. Traditional feed resources for local ruminants are dominated by grazing in native grassland, which has been unable to meet the requirement of animal feed, especially in central and western Inner Mongolia, the arid conditions lead to limit the growth of forage and reduce the supplying of feed for livestock. Forage crops, such as corn and alfalfa, had been introduced into the animal production system, it is a particular need to develop some innovative forages for ruminant production. OG is a typical legume, rich in amino acids and trace elements [1,2], the utilization of OG as ruminant feed is a valuable strategy for alleviating forage deficits in winter and spring and effectively increasing the income of local herders [3]
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