Effect of drought stress on neutral detergent fiber degradation kinetics of corn for silage

Abstract

Graphical Abstract Summary: Limited information exists about the effect of drought stress on forage fiber digestibility. In a greenhouse, we evaluated the effect of drought stress on neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility of corn tissues. Corn plants were subjected to abundant (598 mm) or restricted (273 mm) irrigation regimens, and stems and leaves were incubated in the rumen of dairy cows. According to the conditions of this study, we concluded that drought-stressed corn had a marginal increase in NDF degradability of leaf blades but not in stem internodes, that drought stress had no effects on the effective ruminal degradation of NDF when comparing irrigation treatments within hybrids, and that the effect of drought stress on NDF degradability of corn for silage is still inconclusive. We also observed that the growth of corn plants in a greenhouse does not result in plants with the anatomical structure typically seen in the field.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Factors Affecting Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF) Digestibility of Vegetative Tissues in Corn for Silage

“…Both climate and agricultural practices determine the growing environment of a crop and, hence, their yield and composition. However, our understanding of the effects of climate [8,9] and agricultural practices on NDFD is limited.…”

“…Some pre-and post-harvest factors like hybrid selection [1][2][3], maturity at harvest [4], and cutting height [5] can affect the NDF digestibility (NDFD) of corn silage. Yet, limited information exists about the effects of other environmental and agronomical factors on NDFD [6][7][8][9], such as nitrogen (N) fertilization, seeding population, and their interactions with maturity.…”