Treatment of Chloris gayana hay with ammonia derived from urea; results of a farm trial in Reunion Island

摘要

InReunionIsland,haystoredinfarmslocatedathighaltitudebecomesmouldybecauseofthehighhumidity.Alargescaletrialwithnbsp;ureatreatment(459balesof12kg)wasperformedonadairyfarm,at1100maltitudeattheendoftherainyseason.Thehay(Chlorisgayana)wastreatedwithaureasolutiontoprovide6%ureaonDMbasisand70%finalDM,andstoredinair-tightconditionsnbsp;underaplasticsheetduring6weeks.Followingthetreatmentperiod,morethan97%oftheureahadbeenhydrolysed.Thetotalnitrogencontentincreasedby72%andtheinvitrodrymatterdigestibilityby2.7units.Notraceofmouldnbsp;wasobserved.Excludingthemanpowercost,thetreatmentrepresented18%ofthepriceofthehaydeliveredatthefarm.Inconclusion,theureatreatmentmethodiseasytobeappliedandisanefficientwaytopreservethehayandimproveitsnutritivevalue.Theextracostoftreatmentwaseconomicallyjustifiedasameansofensuringnbsp;availabilityofhayofhighnutritivevalueduringtheperiodofforagescarcity.