Conservation of Spring Cut Italian Ryegrass as Round Bale Silage: Effect of Stage of Maturity on Ensiling Characteristics and Forage Nutritive Value

Spring cut Italian ryegrass was harvested at two different stages of maturity: lake vegetative (EARLY) and flowering (LATE). The wilted forage was round baled and then ensiled by wrapping in plastic film. EARLY harvest reduced dry matter (DM) yield significantly as compared to LATE (5.6 vs. 10.5 t ha^?1; P < 0.01). However, forage quality both before and after ensiling was better for EARLY with higher crude protein (CP) and non-structural carbohydrates content and a lower amount of cell walls (NDF). Higher pH and the fermentation characteristics confirmed the poor quality of LATE silage, having higher content of butyrate, propionate and acid detergent insoluble nitrogen and a lower concentration of lactic acid.
Dry matter intake of EARLY silage by sheep (average 65.0 ± 7.3 kg LW) fed solely forage ad libitum was 37 % higher than LATE (1386 vs. 1011 g DM day^?1; P < 0.05) due to its better palatability and digestibility. In vivo DM digestibility of EARLY silage was 76.1 % while it decreased to 58.2 % for LATE silage. Estimated metabolizable energy content of EARLY silage (11.5 MJ kg^?1 DM) was 29 % higher than LATE (8.9 MJ kg^?1 DM) resulting as similar to the reference value of a high quality perennial ryegrass silage. The forage conservation system of ensiled round bales is effective and recommended when spring cut Italian ryegrass is harvested at an early stage of maturity.