Milk production and composition of dairy cows grazing two perennial ryegrass cultivars allocated in the morning and afternoon
A. Chen A B , R. H. Bryant A and G. R. Edwards A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, Christchurch, New Zealand.
B Corresponding author. Email: Ao.Chen@lincolnuni.ac.nz
Animal Production Science 57(7) 1507-1511 https://doi.org/10.1071/AN16456
Submitted: 15 July 2016 Accepted: 21 December 2016 Published: 22 February 2017
Abstract
The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of perennial ryegrass cultivar and timing of herbage allocation on herbage nutritive value and milk production of mid-lactation dairy cows. An autumn grazing trial using 48 Friesian × Jersey spring-calving cows was conducted over 10 days. Twelve groups of four cows were allocated to three replicates of four treatments, namely, two perennial ryegrass cultivars (AberMagic or Prospect) offered either after milking in the morning (0830 hours) or afternoon (1630 hours). Cows were offered a daily herbage allowance of 30 kg DM/cow above ground level. There were no significant differences in sward structure and morphological characteristics between cultivars, except for Prospect having a lower average tiller mass (43.1 mg) than AberMagic (48.4 mg). The concentration of water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) and organic matter digestibility in DM (DOMD) was greater in AberMagic (180 g/kg, 74.2%) than in Prospect (153 g/kg, 71.4%). Herbage DM percentage, WSC concentration and DOMD were lower in the morning than in the afternoon (18.8% vs 22.3% DM; 154 vs 179 g/kg WSC; 72.1% vs 73.5% DOMD). Herbage DM intake (12.0 kg/cow.day), milk yield (17.2 kg/cow.day) and milksolids yield (1.60 kg/cow.day) did not differ significantly among treatments. Cultivar choice and timing of allocation influenced herbage WSC concentration and digestibility, but did not alter milksolids production.
Additional keywords: AberMagic, herbage allocation time, high-sugar cultivar, Prospect, water-soluble carbohydrates.
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