Corn silage – it’s the gold standard and steadfast staple of lactating dairy rations. But corn is also a highly resource-dependent crop, requiring fertile soil, ample rainfall, and crop-protection inputs that can be costly.
Researchers working collaboratively between Washington State University and several universities and research stations in Brazil recently explored the potential ability of triticale silage to replace corn silage in lactating cow diets.
Their results were published recently as a poster abstract at the 2024 American Dairy Science Association Annual Meeting.
Triticale is a hybrid of wheat and rye. It is more drought- and stress-tolerant than corn, and is an effective crop for preventing soil erosion and thriving in regions with limited irrigation.
The team used an artificial rumination system to simulate the rumen of a cow. They sought to determine whether triticale silage cold keep up with corn silage in diets of high-producing dairy cows with the same dietary energy (NEL = 1.52 Mcal/kg) and starch content (27%).
Four diets were formulated with adjusted levels of triticale silage used to replace corn silage (0%, 33%, 66%, 100%). The fermenters in the artificial rumination system were stocked with rumen fluid from harvested cows. After allowing 7 days to stabilize, liquid effluent from the fermenters was collected on days 8, 9, and 10.
The effluent was evaluated for pH, volatile fatty acids (VFA), dry matter disappearance, digestibility, gas production, and methane synthesis. Results included:
- No significant impact on pH; methane synthesis; or digestibility of dry matter, protein, or starch.
- No effect on VFA proportions or production.
- Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility trended upward linearly as triticale silage content increased.
“This trend provides additional evidence endorsing triticale silage as increased NDF digestibility encourages greater intake, consequently promoting a higher performance level,” the researchers noted.
They concluded that triticale silage could replace corn silage in lactating rations without sacrificing dietary energy and starch.
