<b>Protein fraction, degradability and digestibility of pearl millet silage at different cutting ages </b>

Abstract

The determination of protein fraction and rumen fermentation characteristics of pearl millet genotypes is important, since generate information about food nutritional value and also guide the breeding programs of genotypes to be used in diets of ruminants. The objective of this research was to determine the digestion rates of protein fractions, dry matter degradability and in vitro dry matter digestibility of silages from pearl millet genotypes produced at different cutting ages. The experiment was carried out on the Agronomy campus of the Rio Verde University and on the Rio Verde campus of Goiano Federal Institute. The experimental design was randomized blocks with four replications in a 5 x 3 factorial arrangement, with five genotypes of millet: ARD 500, ADR 7010, LAB 0730, LAB 0731 and LAB 0732 and three cutting ages: 57, 65 and 73 days after sowing (DAS). The silage produced from pearl millet, regardless of genotype can be considered of good quality. The evaluated genotypes are considered early, so that the age that provided the best silage quality was 57 DAS. This age provided higher fractions A, lower fraction C and high degradability and digestibility.

Production and quality of silages pearl millet and paiaguas palisadegrass in monocropping and intercropping in different forage systems

“…Thus, this crop is no longer considered a simple species but, rather, has economic value for producing quality forage and silage. The IVDMD values in the monocropped and intercropped pearl millet silage are similar to those obtained by Guimarães et al (2014), who ensiled pearl millet genotypes during the same phenological stage (65 days) of this study and found a mean IVDMD value of 652.7 g kg -1 for the silage. The nutritional quality of the intercropped silages may be considered satisfactory for maintaining nutrition and could result in moderate weight gains during the critical dry season.…”

Performance, agronomic traits, ensilability and nutritive value of pearl millet cultivar harvested at different growth stages

“…The decrease in CP concentration with the increasing plant maturity has been observed in previous studies (Khan et al ., 2007; Guimaraes et al ., 2014) and can be associated with a higher proportion of stems in the plants, which could ultimately reduce the protein solubility. It is also important to emphasize that the CP concentrations were higher than 60 g/kg DM for all treatments, a level that is considered suitable to sustain optimal microbial activity for an efficient ruminal fermentation (Van Soest, 1994).…”