Effects of breeding for quality on alfalfa ensilability
2003
Muck, R.E. | Hintz, R.W.
Eight alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) populations were cut at early and late maturities in primary growth and in regrowth, wilted to 350 g dry matter (DM)/kg, and ensiled to determine if breeding for high quality affects the ensilability of the alfalfa. Two populations were of standard quality, two were of improved quality, and four were of high quality. The high-quality lines were approximately 30 g/kg DM higher in crude protein and 35 and 30 g/kg DM lower in neutral and acid detergent fiber, respectively, than the standard lines at ensiling. In contrast, there were no significant differences among populations regarding ensiling characteristics [water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) concentration, buffering capacity (BC), and WSC/BC ratio] in the unensiled forage. However, the three highest BC values were in three of the four high-quality lines, but the other high-quality line had the highest WSC/BC ratio of the eight lines. Silage pH and lactic and acetic acid concentrations varied significantly by population. The population with the best fermentation (lowest pH and acetic acid, highest lactic acid) was a high-quality line. The other three high-quality lines were numerically worse (0.03 to 0.09) than the standard lines in pH, although only one was significant. Overall, the magnitudes of these differences were small practically and not necessarily in an adverse direction for all high-quality populations. These results suggest that present efforts in breeding for high quality are not having a substantial negative effect on ensiling.
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