Effect of Different Rates of Ethanol Additive on Fermentation Quality of Napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum)

Zhang, Lei,Yu, C.Q.,Shimojo, M.,Shao, T. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2011 Animal Bioscience Vol.24 No.5

The effect of different rates of ethanol additive on fermentation quality of napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum) and residual water soluble carbohydrate were studied in the experiment. The addition rate of ethanol was 0%, 1.5%, 2.5%, 3.5%, 4.5% on fresh weight of napiergrass. The laboratory silos were kept in the room, then were opened on 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, 30 days after ensiling and the changes of silage quality were analyzed, respectively. There was a fast and large reduction in pH from the 5th day of ensiling to below 4.2 except for the 4.5% treatment. After five days the pH of silage decreased slowly and the pH of the ethanol additions was lower than the control. Lactic acid content of ethanol treatments increased significantly (p<0.05) from the 5th day of ensiling, reaching the highest value on either the 7th day or 14th day. The ethanol additive inhibited the break down of silage protein and the ammonia nitrogen content of ethanol addition silage was significantly (p<0.05) lower than the control after 30 days of ensiling. Within the initial first day of ensiling the water soluble carbohydrate content declined quickly. The efficiency of water soluble carbohydrate usage was higher in silage with ethanol than in the control. The acetic acid of ethanol treatment was significantly (p<0.05) lower than control on first and 14th day, but there was no significant (p>0.05) difference among the ethanol addition silages. The volatile fatty acids content of silage increased gradually from the first day of ensiling and reached the peak on 14th day or 30th day and the content of ethanol addition treatment was significantly (p<0.05) lower than the control. The experimental results indicated that adding ethanol inhibited the use of protein and water soluble carbohydrate of aerobic bacteria and reduced the silage losses during the early stage of ensiling and thus supplied more fermentation substrate for lactic acid bacteria and improved the fermentation quality of napiergrass.

Improving Fermentation and Nutritive Quality of Napiergrass Silage by Mixing with Phasey Bean

Yunus, M.,Ohba, N.,Tobisa, M.,Nakano, Y.,Shimojo, M.,Furuse, M.,Masuda, Y. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2001 Animal Bioscience Vol.14 No.7

To improve the low content of crude protein and low quality fermentation of napiergrass silage, ensiling with phasey bean was examined. Napiergrasses, (Pennisetum purpureum cv. Merkeron), hybrid napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum${\times}$ Pennisetum typhoides) and phasey bean (Macroptilium lathyroides cv. Murray) were cultivated in Fukuoka, Japan. The first growth of napiergrasses and phasey bean were harvested at 90 days of age and chopped into about 1 cm lengths. The mixing levels of phasey bean with napiergrasses were 0, 25, 50 and 75; 700 g of plant materials were ensiled into a laboratory silo (1.0 litre. polyethylene container) and incubated for 30 days. After opening silos, pH, total nitrogen (TN), volatile basic nitrogen (VBN) and organic acids (lactic acid: LA, acetic acid: AA, butyric acid: BA) were determined. The experiment was a factorial design of $2{\times}4$ with 3 replicates. The data were analyzed statistically by two-way analysis of variance. Without inclusion of phasey bean, lower quality was observed for hybrid silage than for Merkeron silage. The inclusion of phasey bean at the rate of 25% increased DM and TN, and decreased pH value, VBN/TN, AA and BA in both Merkeron and hybrid napiergrass silages. The value of pH, TN, VBN/TN, AA and BA were not significantly different among 25, 50 and 75% mixing levels of phasey bean. LA production increased significantly with the increase in phasey bean mixing level in both hybrid and Merkeron silages. At all mixing levels of phasey bean, LA production did not show significant differences between Merkeron and hybrid silages.

Factors Affecting In vitro True Digestibility of Napiergrass

Chen, Chia-Sheng,Wang, Su-Min,Hsu, Jih-Tay Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2006 Animal Bioscience Vol.19 No.4

Changes of in vitro true digestibility (IVTD) of Napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum) were determined by a filter bag system, and their relationships to chemical composition, leaf to stem ratio, plant height, geographic location, climatic factors and harvest interval were studied and used to develop prediction models for the crude protein (CP), acid-detergent fiber (ADF), and neutral-detergent fiber (NDF) contents and IVTD. Partitioning the total variance of IVTD of Napiergrass showed that 80% was attributable to the effect of harvest interval. Days of growth, plant height, leaf/stem ratio, CP, ADF and NDF of Napiergrass had highly significant relationships (p<0.01) with IVTD. The highest coefficient of correlation between the ADF, NDF, and IVTD of Napiergrass and growth degree days was obtained when the base temperature was set at $0^{\circ}C$. Growth degree days could predict ADF, NDF, and IVTD of Napiergrass more accurately than plant height, and plant height is not suitable to predict IVTD.

Effect of Glucose and Formic Acid on the Quality of Napiergrass Silage After Treatment With Urea

Yunus, M.,Ohba, N.,Tobisa, M.,Shimojo, M.,Masuda, Y. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2001 Animal Bioscience Vol.14 No.2

Urea as a silage additive increases crude protein but reduces fermentation quality of silage by increasing pH and enhancing clostridial bacteria growth, especially in low sugar forages. Glucose and formic acid might be expected to compensate these defects caused by urea addition to grass silage. Thus, in this experiment urea formic acid or urea with glucose was applied to improve N content and the quality of napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach.) silage. The first growth of napiergrass was harvested at 85 days of age and about 700 g of the grass was ensiled in laboratory silos (1.0 liter polyethylene containers) for 2, 7, 14, and 30 days at room temperature ($28^{\circ}C$). The treatments were no additives (control), urea, urea+glucose or urea+formic acid. Urea was added before ensiling at 0.5% of fresh weight of napiergrass and glucose and formic acid were added at 1% of fresh weight, respectively. After opening the silo, pH, dry matter content (DM), contents on DM basis of total N (TN), volatile basic nitrogen (VBN), lactic acid (LA), acetic acid (AA) and butyric acid (BA) were determined. The control at 30 days of fermentation showed 5.89 for pH with 13.8% for VBN/TN and 1.51% for AA. The addition of urea increased TN by about 1.5% units but decreased the fermentation quality by increasing pH from 5.89 to 6.86, increasing VBN/TN from 13.8% to 24.63%, increasing BA from 0.02% to 0.56%, and decreasing LA from 1.03% to 0.02%. Glucose addition with urea significantly decreased VBN/TN from 13.8% to 4.44% by reducing pH from 6.86 to 4.83 because of higher production of LA (2.62%). Adding urea and formic acid resulted in a more pronounced depression of VBN/TN and fermentation than the addition of urea and glucose. This study suggested that the combination of 1% glucose or 1% formic acid with 0.5% urea will improve nutritive value and fermentation quality of napiergrass silage.

Effect of Salinity Stress on Dry Matter Yield and Oxalate Content in Napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach)

Rahman, M.M.,Ishii, Y.,Niimi, M.,Kawamura, O. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2008 Animal Bioscience Vol.21 No.11

Sodium is involved in elevation of oxalate content in some plant species and this element is abundant in saline soils. Oxalate causes precipitation of insoluble calcium oxalate in the rumen and kidneys. The intention of this study was to evaluate the effect of soil salinity stress on dry matter yield and oxalate content in pot-grown napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach). Plants were cut three times at 56, 118 and 179 d after transplanting to the pots. Five salinity treatments were used containing various concentrations of NaCl solution as follows: 0, 100, 300, 600 and 900 mM. At 28, 42, 84, 98, 146 and 160 d after transplanting, plants were irrigated with one liter of the particular treatment for each application. Dry matter yield of napiergrass was not affected (p>0.05) by salinity treatments. Plants treated with 100 mM NaCl exhibited a higher soluble oxalate content compared to other treatments, but the differences were not statistically significant (p>0.05). Although salinity treatments had significant (p<0.05) effects on insoluble and total oxalate contents in plant tissue between the 100 and 900 mM NaCl treatments, the differences were too small to be considered biologically important. The present study indicates that where the soil is high in NaCl, napiergrass will tend to grow well and be low in oxalate.

Effects of Calcium Fertilization on Oxalate of Napiergrass and on Mineral Concentrations in Blood of Sheep

Rahman, M.M.,Nakagawa, T.,Niimi, M.,Fukuyama, K.,Kawamura, O. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2011 Animal Bioscience Vol.24 No.12

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of calcium (Ca) fertilization on oxalate content in napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum) and on some blood parameters of sheep. Re-growth napiergrass was grown with or without Ca fertilizer and offered to sheep. Eight sheep, divided into two groups of 4 animals each were used. Calcium-fertilized napiergrass was offered daily to the animals as experimental treatment, whereas without Ca-fertilized napiergrass was given to the animals as control. Results showed that there was a trend to lower soluble and total oxalate concentrations in Ca-fertilized grass than control. The Ca-fertilized grass contained (p<0.05) lower concentrations of K and Mg than control, though Ca fertilization had no affect (p>0.05) on Ca and Na concentrations in plants. Feeding of Ca-fertilized grass had no affect on the feed consumption, blood Mg level and daily gain of sheep. However, sheep fed control grass had lower (p<0.05) blood Ca level than sheep fed Ca-fertilized grass. Our findings suggest that Ca fertilization might minimize the negative effects of oxalate.

Effects of Adding Urea and Molasses on Napiergrass Silage Quality

Yunus, M.,Ohba, N.,Shimojo, M.,Furuse, M.,Masuda, Y. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2000 Animal Bioscience Vol.13 No.11

To standardize proper formulation of urea and molasses, the former to increase crude protein content of tropical grass and the latter for improving its silage quality, we examined the fermentation quality of silage of fresh and wilted napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach) with different levels of urea and molasses with or without lactic acid bacteria (LAB). Silage was made of napiergrass with conditions of fresh young (Exp. 1),young wilted for half day (Exp. 2) and fresh mature (Exp. 3). Chopped plant materials of about 1cm length were ensiled into a laboratory silo and incubated for one month at $25^{\circ}C$. The treatments were the combination of 0, 0.2 and 0.6% of urea and 0, 2 and 5% of molasses (fresh material basis) with or without LAB inoculation. After opening the silo, pH, organic acids, volatile basic nitrogen (VBN) and total nitrogen (TN) were determined. Addition of molasses significantly (p<0.01) lowered pH values in three experiments. Though molasses addition increased lactic acid production even at a higher level of urea, pH values at 0 and 2% molasses were significantly increased by urea in fresh and wilted young silages, but in fresh mature silage it occurred only when molasses was not added. VBN/TN at 0.6% urea were decreased significantly by the highest molasses in three experiments. Significant increases in TN by the increasing of urea addition were observed at all levels of molasses in wilted young and fresh mature silages. In conclusion, a combination of 5% molasses and 0.6% urea could improve the nutritive and fermentation qualities of napiergrass silage under young, wilting and mature conditions.

Interactive Effects of Nitrogen and Potassium Fertilization on Oxalate Content in Napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum)

Rahman, M.M.,Ishii, Y.,Niimi, M.,Kawamura, O. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2010 Animal Bioscience Vol.23 No.6

Ingestion of forage containing a large quantity of soluble oxalate can result in calcium deficiency and even death of livestock. Fertilization is one of the most practical and effective ways to improve yield and nutritional quality of forage. An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of nitrogen (N) fertilization (150, 300 and 600 kg/ha) across varying levels (150, 300 and 600 kg/ha) of potassium (K) on oxalate accumulation in napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum). Application of N at 300 kg/ha produced higher dry matter yield than at 150 or 600 kg/ha, while K fertilization had no effect on yield. In general, N fertilization did not affect the soluble and total oxalate contents, but slightly affected the insoluble oxalate content. Soluble oxalate content showed an increasing trend and insoluble oxalate content showed a decreasing trend with increasing K level, but total oxalate content remained relatively constant. There were significant interactions between N and K fertilization for the content of soluble and insoluble oxalate fractions. The greatest increase in soluble oxalate content with N level at 300 kg/ha was found at the high level (600 kg/ha) of K application. The greatest increase in insoluble oxalate content with N level at 600 kg/ha was found at the low level (150 kg/ha) of K application. These results indicated the possibility of controlling the content of soluble and insoluble oxalate fractions in forage by fertilization.

Effects of Preheated Additives on the Fermentation Quality of Napiergrass Silage

Yunus, M.,Ohba, N.,Tobisa, M.,Shimojo, M.,Masuda, Y. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2001 Animal Bioscience Vol.14 No.11

Hydrolysis of plant protein to non-protein nitrogen (N) or ammonia can reduce quality of silage crops. Heating or non-enzymatic browning is a treatment to inhibit this hydrolysis. This experiment was conducted to examine the effects of pre-heated soybean meal and molasses on the fermentation quality of napiergrass silage. The initial growth of napiergrass was harvested at 85 days of age and immediately chopped into about 1 cm length. About 700 g of the grass was ensiled into a laboratory silo (1.0 liter polyethylene container) and incubated for 30 days at room temperature ($28^{\circ}C$). No additives (control), molasses, soybean meal and molasses + soybean meal treatments were prepared. All additives were non-heated or heated in an oven at $150^{\circ}C$ for 30 minutes before ensiling. Molasses was added at 3% on the fresh weight basis and soybean meal was added at 0.5% N, respectively. After opening the silo, pH, total nitrogen (TN), volatile basic nitrogen (VBN), lactic acid (LA), acetic acid (AA), butyric acid (BA) and dry matter (DM) contents were determined. The data were analyzed statistically by analysis of variance. Compared with control, molasses addition significantly decreased pH value, VBN/TN, AA and BA and increased LA production. Soybean meal addition significantly increased TN and VBN/TN of silage. Both molasses and soybean meal addition significantly reduced pH value, AA, and BA and increased DM and LA contents of silage. The heating of additives was only effective to reduce VBN/TN production compared with non-heated additives in soybean meal and soybean meal with molasses addition.

DIGESTION OF NAPIERGRASS SILAGE BY GOATS

Yokota, H.,Ohshima, M.,Okajima, T.,Ito, Y. Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 1989 Animal Bioscience Vol.2 No.3