Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Reza Khodaverdi ¹
• Mohammad Hassan Fathi Nasri ²
• Hassan Fazaeli ³
• seysd homayoon farhangfar ⁴

¹ Department of Animal Science, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran. E-mail: reza.khodaverdi57@birjand.ac.ir

² Corresponding Authro, Department of Animal Science, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran. E-mail: hfathi@birjand.ac.ir

³ Animal Science Research Institute of Iran, Karaj, Iran. E-mail: fazaeli@areeo.ac.ir

⁴ Department of Animal Science, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran. E-mail: hfarhangfar@birjand.ac.ir

Abstract

Introduction: The use of agricultural plants resistant to environmental stresses, such as fodder beet, is inevitable in water shortage conditions. Such products have high moisture, which makes it difficult to store them. Total mixed ration (TMR) silage can be a good solution for this problem. This research was carried out in order to evaluate the feasibility of using of using TMR silage containing 25 or 35% of fodder beet (DM basis) in the feeding of fattening lambs by in vitro and in vivo methods. 
Material and Methods: In the in vitro experiment, diets containing two levels of fodder beet (25% and 35%, DM basis) were ensiled as TMR silage for 60 days and some important silage fermentation properties were evaluated. In the in vivo study, diet containing 25% fodder beet was used in the feeding of fattening lambs in two forms of TMR silage (60-days silage) and TMR for 70 days.
Results and Discussion: The amount of dry matter, crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber , water-soluble carbohydrates, crude fat and ash in the whole plant (aerial organ and root) of fodder beet were 17.1, 11.1, 35.9, 19.6, 50.1, 0.59 and 8.1 percent, respectively. Silage fermentation properties and aerobic stability were significantly affected by diet and time (P<0.05). Increasing the level of dietary fodder beet, decreased pH and concentrations of CP, true protein and starch of experimental silages. The pH value of silage containing 25% fodder beet on the 15th day and the pH value of silage containing 35% fodder beet on the ninth day of the aerobic stability test compared to the concentration on the first day of reopening suffered aerobic spoilage with an increase of half a unit (4.73 vs. 4.17 and 4.53 vs. 3.94, respectively) which indicates the weaker aerobic stability of silage containing 35% fodder beet. Lambs fed with TMR silage, consumed more (P<0.05) dry matter than the control group (1914.7 vs. 1756.9 g/day), and other performance indices did not show significant differences. The concentration of all blood parameters in the experimental lambs was in the normal range, which shows that the lambs did not suffer from metabolic problems or special complications by feeding the experimental diets.
Conclusion: Based on the results obtained from this research, feeding TMR silage containing 25% fodder beet caused better fermentation characteristics and aerobic stability compared to 35% level, and it seems that it can be used for feeding fattening lambs, without any adverse effect on performance and health.

Keywords

• Aerobic stability
• Afshar fattening lamb
• Fermentation properties
• Fodder beet
• TMR silage