CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND ENERGY VALUE OF MAIZE SILAGE MADE ON FARMS IN ENGLAND AND WALES 1984-92

摘要

The chemical composition of 960 samples of maize silage, made on commercial farms in England and Wales between 1984-1992, is described. The average composition was 302 g/kg dry matter (d.m.), pH 3.78, ammonia-N 60 g/kg N, 87 g/kg d.m. crude protein (CP), 292 g/kg d.m modified acid detergent fibre (MADF), 678 g/kg d.m neutral-detergent cellulase digestible organic matter (NCDG) and 301 g/kg d.m. starch. The predicted mean metabolizable energy content was 10.5 MJ/kg d.m. There was significant year-to-year variation for each variable. Ammonia-N and ash contents were negatively correlated and starch and metabolizable energy content were positively correlated with silage d.m. content.