Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess the effect of different maize processing technologies, comparing treatments with conventional rollers (control), MCC MAX rollers and a Shredlage crop processor on the quality of chopped maize. All the three types of chopped maize were harvested on the same day from the same field where the same maize hybrid was grown. The chemical composition of chopped maize, degree of grain processing and particle size fractions, and the effect of the treatments on rumen disappearance of dry matter, organic matter, NDF and starch were assessed. The highest degree of grain processing was achieved with the Shredlage processor (79.2%), and at the same time this processing method had a tendency to produce the highest proportion of physically effective fibre (37.2%). Compared to the conventional rollers (control), the chopped maize produced using the Shredlage processor had higher disappearance of dry matter, organic matter and NDF after 48 h of rumen incubation and of starch after 24 h of incubation. The MCC MAX rollers provided higher disappearance of all nutrients compared to the control treatment after both 24 and 48 h of incubation.
Highlights
Good maize silage crop processing during harvest improves silage compaction and fermentation and helps preserve nutrients [1]
With regard to essential nutrient content, there were no significant differences in organic matter, crude protein (CP), fat, starch, fibre or fibre fractions between the treatments, except for acid detergent fibre (ADF), where a difference of 2.6 percentage units was found between SHR and MAX (Table 1)
Significant differences were found in the dry matter content, where apparently the maize stand was not of even quality across the plot, and dry matter was higher for the SHR method of harvest compared to the other two
Summary
Good maize silage crop processing during harvest improves silage compaction and fermentation and helps preserve nutrients [1]. Forages with a high proportion of small particles can have an adverse effect on digestion They can reduce saliva production, rumen pH and fibre digestibility [4]. Smaller forage particles spend less time in the rumen and are less available for microbial digestion This reduces digestibility, especially of fibre, due to the relatively low rate of digestion [5]. For these reasons, in recent years, new technologies for processing maize silage have been developed and increasingly used, where the length of cut is higher in order to increase the proportion of physically effective fibre (peNDF) and achieve a high degree of kernel processing at the same time
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