TITLE:
Effects of Potassium Fertilizer on Water-Soluble Carbohydrate Content of Timothy (Phleum pratense L.), Silage Fermentation, Nutritive Values, and Nutrient Intake
AUTHORS:
Peng Wang, Kousaku Souma, Hideki Okamoto, Satomi Kin, Akane Sugita, Akihiro Furudate, Chihiro Sato, Akio Nibe, Yimin Cai, Takayoshi Masuko
KEYWORDS:
Feed Intake; Fermentation Quality; Nutritive Value; Potassium Fertilizer; Timothy Silage
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.5 No.7,
March
26,
2014
ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to examine the
effects of potassium fertilizer (standard (S) and high (H) levels) on
water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content of timothy (Phleum pratense L.), silage
fermentation, nutritive values, and nutrient intake. The silage treatments were
as follows: S level without inoculant (SC), S level plus inoculant (SI), H
level without inoculant (HC), and H level plus inoculant (HI). The K content
was increased by 14.5% in timothy grown with the H level compared with the S
level. The WSC contents of the S and H treatments were 75.9 and 66.1 g·kg-1 dry matter (DM), respectively. The silage
fermentation quality was low with both SC and HC treatments. The addition of
inoculant significantly improved the fermentation quality in SI and HI
treatments. The addition increased the DM and organic matter digestibilities of
silage. The total digestible nutrient (TDN) content of silage was highest with
the HI treatment. The DM, TDN, and digestible energy intakes with the SI and HI
treatments were improved compared with the SC and HC treatments, respectively.
This study demonstrated negligible effects of K fertilizer levels and
significant effects of the lactic acid bacteria inoculant on the fermentation
quality, nutritive values, and feed intake of silage.