Dry Corn Silage Research Articles

Effects of Rumen pH on Degradation Kinetics and Fermentation Indices of Corn Silage Ensiled with Antifungal and Carboxylesterase Producing Inoculants

The present study investigated effects of antifungal and carboxylesterase inoculant on rumen fermentation with different rumen pH. Corn silage was treated without inoculant (CON) and with a mixed Lactobacillus brevis 5M2 and L. buchneri 6M1 (MIX). Rumen fluid was collected from two cannulated Hanwoo heifers before morning feeding (high rumen pH at 6.70) and 3 h after feeding (low rumen pH at 6.20). Dried corn silage was incubated in the rumen buffer (rumen fluid + anaerobic culture medium at 1:2 ratio) for 48 h at 39oC. Eight replications for each treatment were used along with two blanks. Both in a high and a low rumen pH, MIX silages presented higher (p<0.05) the immediately degradable fraction, the potentially degradable fraction, total degradable fraction, and total volatile fatty acid (VFA) than those of CON silages. Incubated corn silages in a low rumen pH presented lower (p<0.05) total degradable fraction, ammonia-N, total VFA (p=0.061), and other VFA profiles except acetate and propionate, than those in a high rumen pH. The present study concluded that application of antifungal and carboxylesterase inoculant on corn silage could improve degradation kinetics and fermentation indices in the rumen with high and low pH conditions.

Effects of corn treated with foliar fungicide on in situ corn silage degradability in Holstein cows

With increasing feed prices and decreasing profit margins livestock producers are constantly searching for ways to increase nutritive value of the feed in order to get more production per unit of feedstuff. The objective of this study was to assess the digestibility of corn silage made of corn plants treated with various foliar fungicide applications. Treatments were: control (CON), corn received no foliar fungicide application; 1X, corn received one application of pyraclostrobin foliar fungicide (PYR; Headline; BASF Corp.) at vegetative stage 5 (V5); 2X, corn received 2 applications of foliar fungicides, PYR at stage V5, and a mixture of pyraclostrobin and metconazole (PYR+MET; Headline AMP; BASF Corp.) at reproductive stage 1 (R1); and 3X, corn received 3 applications of foliar fungicides, PYR at stage V5, PYR+MET at stage R1, and PYR+MET at reproductive stage 3. Corn was harvested at the same time and ensiled for 7 months. Dried unground corn silage was put into 288 (3 per time points/treatment/cow) 10×20cm bags and incubated for 8 different time points (0, 2, 4, 8, 12, 48, 72, and 96h). A sample of unground dried corn silage was also placed into 20×40cm bag and incubated for 48h. Digestibility of corn silages was estimated using in situ procedure with 3 rumen-cannulated lactating multiparous Holstein cows. The degradable fraction of dry matter (DM) tended to be greater (P=0.08) for corn silages treated with fungicide when compared with CON. There was no treatment effect (P>0.05) on neutral detergent fiber (aNDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), starch, and crude protein (CP). However, the soluble fraction of DM, aNDF, and ADF decreased (P<0.05) as fungicide applications increased. Effective degradability (ED) was greater (P<0.05) in CON than corn silages treated with fungicide mainly due to decreased ED in 3X compared with 1X and 2X. In situ digestibility for bigger and smaller bags was different. Degradability of DM, aNDF, and ADF was higher (P<0.05), while starch and CP degradability was lower (P<0.01) in the larger bags. Fungicide application to corn for silage lead to higher DM degradable fraction which seems to be the result of increased sugar and starch along with decreased aNDF and ADF.

Influence of raw material on the occurrence of tail-biting in undocked pigs

The aim of this study was to reveal the effects of raw material provision on tail-biting outbreaks in long-tailed pigs. Two different substrates, dried corn silage (SG, n=245) and alfalfa hay (AG, n=245) were provided for the pigs twice per day from the second week of life until the end of rearing. The control of long-tailed pigs (CG, n=231) were kept without the provision of additional raw material. Each tail was scored regarding tail lesions/tail losses once per week with a four-point score (0=no damage/original length, 3=severe damage/total loss). Weight was collected at the beginning and at the end of rearing. The effect of week after weaning, the batch and the interaction between treatment group and batch had highly significant influences on tail lesions (p<0.001). The main concentration of behavioural disorder took place in the rearing phase. Tail-biting started on average two to three weeks after weaning, followed by tail losses one to two weeks later. The effect of batch had a highly significant influence on tail losses at the end of rearing (p<0.001). The number of tail losses decreased with the number of batches and ranged from 98.6% in batch one to 8.5% in batch ten. This can be explained by enhanced and more precise animal observation by stable staff and points out the learning process in the course of the study. At the end of rearing, piglets of all batches had lost their tails to the greatest extent in CGs (48.7%), followed by AGs (45.2%) and SGs (41.3%). There was no clear trend in total weight gain regarding the level of tail lesions and tail losses. Corn silage stayed attractive for the piglets during the whole observation period, whereas the acceptance of the alfalfa hay decreased towards the end of rearing. The daytime, the batch and the day after weaning, as well as the interaction between treatment group and day after weaning had highly significant influences on the overall activity behaviour during rearing (p<0.001). To summarise, the rearing of long-tailed pigs requires intensive animal observation and direct intervention in case of tail-biting outbreaks. A provision of raw material on the floor of the piglet nest (suckling period) and in a piglet bowl (rearing period) from the second week of life until the end of rearing cannot prevent tail-biting during rearing, but reduces the occurrence of the behavioural disorder in long-tailed pigs.

Results of mycological and mycotoxicological investigations of corn-based feed for dairy cow diet

In this study, fungal contamination was determined as well as total aflatoxin B1(AB1), ochratoxin A (OTA) and zearalenon (ZEA) levels in corn-based feed samples obtained from four different farms in Serbia (n=35) during one year. Mycotoxins were detected in feed using the VICAM fluorometric method. It was determined that 97.14% of all samples were contaminated with moulds which belonged to following genera: Absidia, Acremonium, Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Geotrichum, Eurotium, Fusarium, Mucor, Mortierella, Oidiodendron, Penicillium, Rhizopus, Scopulariopsis, Syncephalastrum, Trichoderma, Ulocladium and Wallrothiella. A total of 58 different species were identified. Total mould count per 1 g ranged from 1.00 log cfu/g (dried corn silage - autumn, fresh corn silage - summer and corn grain silage - spring) to 7.32 log cfu/g (dried corn silage - winter). Mycotoxins were isolated from 28.5% of samples: ZEA was found in summer (220-240 ?g/kg) and in spring (240 ?g/kg) in concentrate samples; OTA was detected in winter in dried corn silage (16 ?g/kg) and in spring (12 ?g/kg); all samples were AB1 free.

Valor nutricional da silagem de grãos úmidos de milho com diferentes graus de moagem para leitões na fase de creche

Utilizaram-se 72 leitões mestiços (Landrace x Large White), com peso inicial médio de 7,1kg, no experimento de desempenho e 20 leitões mestiços, com peso inicial médio de 18,9kg, no experimento de digestibilidade para avaliar a silagem de grãos úmidos de milho com diferentes granulometrias para leitões em fase de creche. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos ao acaso. Em ambos os experimentos avaliaram-se o valor nutricional das silagens com diâmetro geométrico médio (DGM) das partículas de 979, 1168 e 2186µm e do milho seco com DGM das partículas de 594µm. Na fase de zero ao oitavo dia, a silagem proporcionou menor consumo diário de ração (CDR) em relação ao milho seco, e foi verificado aumento linear no CDR com o aumento da granulometria da silagem. A silagem com granulometria média e grossa proporcionou melhora na conversão alimentar (CA) em relação ao milho seco, mas não foi observada diferença no ganho diário de peso (GDP). Para o período total, não foram observadas diferenças estatísticas para CDR e GDP, entretanto a silagem proporcionou melhora na CA em relação ao milho seco havendo efeito linear crescente da granulometria da silagem sobre a CA. A granulometria da silagem não influenciou nos coeficientes de digestibilidade aparente (CDA) da matéria seca e da proteína bruta, porém proporcionou maiores CDA do fósforo e valores de energia digestível em relação ao milho seco. O CDA do cálcio e os valores de energia metabolizável foram maiores para a silagem com granulometria fina e média, comparado ao do milho seco. Houve redução linear do CDA do cálcio com o aumento da granulometria da silagem.

Liquid chromatographic determination of fumonisins B1, B2, and B3 in corn silage.

Corn silage was dried, ground, and then extracted with 0.1 M ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. The filtrate was applied to a FumoniTest immunoaffinity column. Fumonisins were derivatized with naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde, separated on a C(18) liquid chromatographic column, and detected by fluorescence. The detection limits for fumonisin B(1), fumonisin B(2), and fumonisin B(3) were 50, 25, and 25 ng/g of dried silage, respectively. Recoveries of fumonisin B(1), fumonisin B(2), and fumonisin B(3) from wet and dried corn silage spiked over the range of 100-5000 ng/g averaged 91-106%. The method was applied to corn silage samples collected from the midwestern area of the United States during 2001-2002. Of 89 corn silage samples, fumonisin B(1), fumonisin B(2), and fumonisin B(3) were found in 86 (97%), 64 (72%), and 51 (57%) of the samples. The mean positive levels of fumonisin B(1), fumonisin B(2), and fumonisin B(3) were 615, 93, and 51 ng/g, respectively, in dried silage. This suggests that fumonisins may be frequent low level contaminants in corn silage.

The influence of different fibrous supplements in the diet on ruminal histology and histometry in veal calves.

The aim of this study was to determine whether the administration of four different solid feeds would influence selected morphological and morpho-functional aspects of the rumen mucosa in veal calves. The fibrous supplementation of the liquid diet of veal calves has been provided by recent EU formulation (EC Council Directive 91/629/1991; EC Council Directive 97/2/1997). Twenty-five Holstein calves were assigned to either exclusively liquid diet (milk replacer, control), or pelleted feed, corn silage, extruded feed, dried corn silage. The morpho-functional effects of the fibre-containing diets were examined evaluating histological and histometrical characteristics of ruminal mucosa after the slaughter of calves. There were slight to severe histological abnormalities in the rumens of all animals examined. The severe histological abnormalities were present in calves given pelleted feed, corn silage, and extruded feed. Dried corn silage caused less ruminal damage. We found that the length and epithelial thickness of ruminal papillae were higher in control veal calves than in dietary fibre-supplemented animals. The results of the present study, even if partially, support the EU prescription in the use of fibre diets in veal calves as integration of the traditional milk replacer diet.