Effects of harvest period on silage quality of winter sweet corn straw.

In order to explore the suitable harvest period of winter sweet corn straw in western Guangdong, Jinyinsu NO. 2, which is widely planted in western Guangdong, was selected as the test material and planted in the experimental field of Guangdong Ocean University. Straw was harvested 5, 10 and 15 days after fresh ears were picked, and the nutrients, fermentation quality and rumen degradation rate were measured after 60 days of silage fermentation. The results showed that with the extension of the harvest period, the concentrations of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), soluble sugar (SS), starch, acid detergent insoluble protein (ADICP), soluble protein (SCP), rumen degrading protein (RDP), and the degradation rate of neutral detergent fiber (NDFD) and dry matter degradation rate (DMD) at 24 and 48 h were significantly increased (P<0.05). The contentrations of ammoniacal nitrogen (NH₃-N), NH₃-N/TN and acetic acid (AA) were the highest in the straw silage harvested on the 15th day (P<0.05). The study indicates that it is advisable to harvest straw 15 days after harvesting the ears for winter planting Jinyinsu NO.2 in western Guangdong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]