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Effect of Harvest Time on Silage Quality and in vitro Fermentation Characteristics of Silage Maize
- YANG Dasheng, WANG Shuiping, HE Xiquan, LI Haiqiang, TANG Shaoxun, LU Qi, FAN Dingkun, YANG Xin
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2019, 50(11):
2264-2272.
doi:10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2019.11.010
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This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of harvest time on the silage quality and the in vitro fermentation characteristics of silage maize. The KEYU1108 silage maize was harvested at the middle and later periods of the milk-ripe stage as well as the initial and middle periods of the waxy-ripe stage, respectively. After harvest, the silage was processed and the quality was investigated at 90 d of ensiling. Subsequently, the oven-dried silage was fermented for 72 h by an in vitro gas production technique. The results showed that:1) Before the ensiling, with the prolonging of harvest time of the silage maize, the whole-plant biomass (linear, P<0.000 1), the straw biomass (linear, P=0.019 0), the grain biomass (linear, P<0.000 1), the hundred-grain weight (linear, P<0.000 1; quadratic, P=0.006), the grain ratio (linear, P<0.000 1) and the ether extract concentration (linear, P=0.037) were increased, the straw ratio (linear, P<0.000 1) and the crude protein concentration (linear, P=0.028) were decreased, the concentrations of neutral detergent fiber (quadratic, P=0.029) and acid detergent fiber (quadratic, P=0.067) were firstly decreased and then increased, and the water-soluble carbohydrate concentration (quadratic, P=0.001) was firstly increased and then decreased; 2) In the process of the ensiling, with the prolonging of harvest time of the silage maize, the isovalerate molar proportion (linear, P=0.035) was decreased, the propionate molar proportion (quadratic, P=0.064) was firstly decreased and then increased, and the acetate molar proportion (quadratic, P=0.098) was firstly increased and then decreased; 3) In the process of in vitro fermentation after the ensiling, with the prolonging of harvest time of the silage maize, the potential maximum gas production (linear, P=0.015), total volatile fatty acids concentration (linear, P=0.017) and the dry matter disappearance (linear, P=0.099) were decreased, and the acetate molar proportion (linear, P=0.043) was increased. The results suggested that the prolonging of harvest time of the silage maize could increase the biomass, change the nutrient compositions, not affect the silage quality, but reduce the degradation characteristics in vitro after ensiling.