Forage Yield and Quality Indices of Silage-Corn Following Organic and Inorganic Phosphorus Amendments in Podzol Soil under Boreal Climate

Abstract

Dairy and livestock industry drives the economy and food security through sustainable supply of dairy products and meat across the globe. Dairy farm operations produce a large quantity of manure, which is a cheap and abundant plant nutrient source. However, insufficient forage production with low quality matrix are the current challenges of dairy industry in boreal climate due to extreme weather conditions. To address these challenges, a field experiment was conducted for three years to determine the effects of organic (dairy manure-based phosphorus (DMP)) and inorganic phosphorus (P) amendments on forage yield and quality indices of silage-corn cultivated in boreal climate. Experimental treatments were: (i) DMP with high P concentration (DMP1); (ii) DMP with low P concentration (DMP2) and (iii) inorganic P, also designated as control; and five silage-corn genotypes (Fusion-RR, Yukon-R, A4177G3-RIB, DKC23-17RIB, DKC26-28RIB). Results revealed that DMP1 amendment produced significantly higher forage yield compared to inorganic P, whereas non-significant effects were shown on quality indices except P mineral, available and crude protein. Yukon-R and DKC26-28RIB showed superior agronomic performance and produced significantly higher forage yield, whereas A4177G3-RIB produced lowest forage yield but exhibited superior nutritional quality; higher minerals, protein, total digestible nutrients, net energy for gain, net energy for maintenance and calculated milk production compared to other genotypes. Yukon-R not only produced higher forage, but also displayed good forage quality indices which were very close to A4177G3-RIB genotype. Therefore, we conclude that Yukon-R cultivation following DMP as organic amendment could be a sustainable production practice to attain high forage yield with optimum nutritional quality to meet the forage needs of growing dairy industry in boreal climate.

Corn Silage, Meta-Analysis of The Quality and Yield of Different Regions in the World

“…The NDF reported by Calsamiglia et al [23] is between 44.9 and 57.0 g/100 g DM, where the average value of silage is within this range, taking into account that a good quality forage has a NDF less than 50 g/100 g DM [6]. While NDF digestibility (NDFD) is higher than that described by Ferraretto and Shaver [27] with a content of 42.4 to 48.9 g/100 g DM.…”

“…This may be related to an increase in the harvest stage, at advanced maturity, decreases the in vitro digestibility of DM [29]. The CP concentration is between 8 to 11 g/100 g DM [28], placing the average value below the established range, although the protein content can vary between 5.2 and 7.5 g/100 g DM, considering that for a good forage the CP should be higher 7 g/100 g DM [6].…”

“…Increased NDFD is associated with feeding behavior and increased DM intake (DMI) [31]. The NFC content is between 27 to 32 g/100g DM, allowing a good fermentation [24]; the average NFC in the meta-analysis is higher than 30 g/100g DM, characteristic of a good quality forage [6]. The OM is below the values mentioned by Calsamiglia et al [23] (95.82 to 95.82 g/100 g DM), representing a higher concentration of ashes, which in turn produces a decrease in NCP, therefore, a decrease in NDT values [30].…”

“…Corn silage (Zea mays L.) is the most widely used energy resource in the diets of dairy cattle worldwide [1], this energy comes from the starch in the grain fraction [2], which is the main source of metabolizable energy in corn silage and has been considered an important characteristic [3]. Corn silage stands out for its higher biomass yields, good palatability [4,5], homogeneous quality at harvest and ease of silage due to the higher soluble sugar content [6] with respect to other grasses. It is important to mention that parameters such as crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD) [7] should be considered, as well as fast growth and resistance to foliar diseases [8,9], characteristics related to the ideal idiotype of forage corn [10].…”

Root membrane lipids as potential biomarkers to discriminate silage‐corn genotypes cultivated on podzolic soils in boreal climate

“…Silage‐corn ( Zea mays L.) is a principal forage crop grown in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) to fulfill the dairy industry forage needs (Kwabiah 2003, Ali et al 2019b, 2019a). It has high yield potential, source of high energy and uniformity in quality with one cut harvest (Kirkland et al 2005, Rankin 2014, Ali et al 2019a, Ali et al 2019b). Moreover, it is highly palatable and preservable due to high soluble sugar contents (Karsten et al 2003).…”