Production and nutritional value of the wheat silage managed with different cutting systems

Winter cereals are mainly used for human and animal nutrition and several studies are now exploring their potential as conserved forage (hay and silage). Among the winter cereal species available for cultivation in the south of Brazil, which is major winter cereals producer in the country, the wheat cv. BRS Umbu has attracted special attention. However, few studies have investigated the potential of this cultivar for silage production. The aim of this study was to evaluate the production and quality of silage from the dual-purpose wheat, BRS Umbu, subjected to different cut managements treatments: T1 - without cut (control), T2 - one cut and T3 - two cuts. Each plot represented an experimental unit in a randomized block design, with 5 replicates per treatment. Two representative samples were collected from each plot to determine morphological segmentation (stem, leaf and ear) and dry matter (DM) content of the whole plant and its morphological components. At the time of opening of the silos, food chemical analysis and pH determination were performed. Forage mass production decreased by 26.88% and 67.82%, respectively, with one and two cuts, compared to control. The DM content of the ensiled plant was 49.9 g kg-1 for the control, 54.7 g kg-1 with one cut and 63.2 g kg-1 with two cuts, at the time of ensiling. Management cuts changed the morphological components of the plants, with a lower proportion of stem (28%) in plants subjected to two cuts. The control treatment showed fewer leaves in ensiled plant (9.6%) and intermediate amount of stalk (52.8%), and was significantly different (p < 0.05) to treatment of a cut. Regarding feed chemistry evaluations, no significant difference (p > 0.05) was observed for mineral matter (MM), crude protein (CP) and hemicellulose (HEM) between the different cutting regimens. However, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) decreased (p < 0.05) as the number of cuts increased. The control treatment showed higher NDF and ADF content (563.2 and 357.9 g kg-1 DM, respectively) and lower amount of total digestible nutrients (TDN) and net energy of lactation (NEL). However, the estimated milk production (EMP) was superior for this treatment (22,447 l ha-1), demonstrating the high impact of reduced forage mass production with increased number of cuts.