Abstract
The objective of the study was to evaluate the influence of corn-crotalaria intercropping on the fermentative process, the organic acid profile, and the chemical composition of the silages produced. The trial was implemented in a randomized block design, in a 3 × 2 factorial scheme, with three types of intercrops [single corn (CSC), corn + Crotalaria juncea (CCJ), and corn + Crotalaria ochroleuca (CCO)] in two spatial arrangements [A1 (corn and legume sown in the same row) and A2 (corn and legume sown in alternate rows)], with six repetitions per treatment, evaluated in two agricultural years. The silages were evaluated for fermentative losses, pH, organic acids, ammonia nitrogen, chemical composition, and in vitro dry matter degradability. The least amount of gas loss was observed in the silages produced in the first year with CCJ and the CCO (11.6 g/kg dry matter for both). The lowest pH values were verified in the silage of the treatments CSC and CCJ (3.46 and 3.44, respectively) in the second year, and for ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3-N), the lowest concentrations were observed for CSC and CCO (120.7 and 138 g/kg total nitrogen, respectively). Higher levels of lactic acid and crude protein were obtained in the silage produced with CCJ, in both years of evaluation, whereas lower contents of acid detergent fiber were observed in the silage of the treatments CSC and CCO in the spatial arrangement A2. The largest coefficients of in vitro dry matter degradability were observed in the silages originated from CSC and CCO (820.6 and 798.0 g/kg dry matter, respectively). These results suggest that the intercropping of corn with C. ochroleuca sown in alternate rows increase the crude protein content without reducing the fermentative and nutritional quality of the silages. The planting of both legumes in the same row with corn negatively influenced the fermentative and nutritional characteristics of the silages, and this method is not recommended.
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