Abstract

There is a balance between dry matter (DM) yield and feed value when choosing types of grasses on a farm depending on the acreages of farmland and types of ruminants to be fed. Tall fescue (TF, Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) appears to be an alternative to traditional grasses, such as timothy (TI, Phleum pretense L.) and meadow fescue (MF, Festuca pratensis L.), in northern Europe. This is especially important in a changing climate due to its high DM yield, drought tolerance and adaptability to a wide range of climates (Richard et al., 2020). Our previous study (Sousa et al., 2021) compared the effects of TI and TF on cell wall composition and their relationship to dairy cow performance. Besides the greater concentration of fiber components observed in TI, concentrations of most of the hydroxylcinnamic acids (p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, and its respective cis isomerisation) in the cell walls were greater in TF silages than in TI silages. Consequently, cows receiving TI silages showed greater energy corrected milk (ECM) yield than cows receiving TF silages, suggesting that the concentration of hydroxycinnamic acids was the main factor regulating milk production. To our knowledge, there is no study comparing TF and TI with MF on performance of dairy cows. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of these grass species on cell wall components and milk production of dairy cows.

Published in

Report from the Department of Crop Production Ecology (VPE)
2023, number: 34, pages: 105-108
Title: Vallkonferens 2023 : Konferensrapport : 7-8 februari 2023, Uppsala, Sverige
ISBN: 978-91-8046-805-3, eISBN: 978-91-8046-806-0
Publisher: Institutionen för växtproduktionsekologi, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
DOI: 10.54612/a.5l50sdfpvh

Conference

Vallkonferens 2023, 7-8 februari 2023, Uppsala, Sverige

SLU Authors

• Oliveira de Sousa, Dannylo

  • Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Larsson, Annie

  • Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • Lantmännen

• Takahashi Schmidt, Junko

  • Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Nadeau, Elisabet

  • Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Animal and Dairy Science


Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/126068