Udén, Peter
- Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
Timothy, red clover and white clover from two cuts and two stages of maturity and whole crops (WC) of barley, wheat and maize from three stages of maturity were analysed for individual plant organic acids (OAs) before and after ensiling in mini-silos. Total OA levels, as previously reported, were generally lower in WC (14-70g/kg dry matter) in comparison with leys (51-98g/kg dry matter). Succinic, shikimic and fumaric acid levels were very low in all samples, while quinic, malonic, malic and citric acid constituted >90% of total OAs in all samples except maize. Maize had lower total OA levels than any other species but was the only one containing detectable levels of oxalic and aconitic acid. The sum of oxalic and aconitic acid decreased, however, from 89% to 35% of total OAs from early to late maturity, while there was a parallel increase in citric acid with increasing harvest date. Total OA level was unaffected in the ley crops by maturity, cut and species (p>.1), but among WC, wheat was higher than maize (p
Keywords
forages; organic acids; silage; whole crops
Published in
Grass and Forage Science
2018, volume: 73, number: 3, pages: 583-587
Publisher: WILEY
SLU Authors
UKÄ Subject classification
Animal and Dairy Science
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/gfs.12361
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/96432