• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.377-382
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• 1991

The effect of molasses addition and hot temperature on the ensiling characteristics of napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) were studied. Napier grass was harvested five times at intervals from 22 to 39 days and each harvest was divided into two equal portions. The half portion was ensiled directly and the other half was ensiled after mixing with molasses into polyethylene bag silos of 15 kg capacity. Molasses was added at the rate of 4% of fresh weight of the grass. One half of the each treatment was conserved at a room of $40^{\circ}C$ for a month and then moved to an ambient temperature room. The other half was kept at ambient temperature for the whole experimental duration. The silages were opened 3 to 7 months after ensiling. Addition of molasses enhanced lactic acid fermentation by increasing lactic acid content and reducing pH value, ammonia nitrogen and acetic, propionic and butyric acid contents of the silages in both temperature treatments. Enhanced temperature increased pH value and decreased acetic, propionic and butyric acids.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.33-37
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• 1992

Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) harvested at an early growth stage was ensiled with 4% of molasses in a polyethylene bag silo which contained 15 kg of chopped forage each. Dry matter (DM) content of the silage was so low as 14.75%, although chemical quality of the silage was very high. Ratio of ammonia nitrogen to total nitrogen was 6.59%, and the pH value of the silage was 3.79. Nutritive value of the silage was estimated using goats and compared to that of a timothy hay as a reference ration. Feeding level of each rations was adjusted to a level of nitrogen (N) recommendation. DM and N digestibilities of the silage were 65.0 and 54.5%, respectively, but those of the timothy hay were 37.6 and 37.2%. Feeding of the napier grass silage maintained body weight and kept positive N retention. Ammonia N concentration in the rumen fluid in goats fed the napier grass silage increased after feeding, but blood urea concentration was constant. Feeding of the timothy hay did not increase ammonia N concentration in the rumen fluid, but increased blood urea concentration. These facts indicated that the napier grass silage had enough digestible DM and N for maintenance ration to goats.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.591-596
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• 1994

Chemical composition and nutritive values of napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) silages subjected to two cutting intervals were studies; 1st harvest in July (A), and 2nd (B) and 1st (C) harvests in November. Each forage was ensiled with 4% molasses in plastic bags and stored for 5 or 9 months. A feeding experiment with castrated goats was conducted from April to June of the following year. Dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) content of the harvests varied from 9.5 to 22.8% and 6.6 to 13.6% of DM, respectively. The dry matter content of the silages fed to the goats were 13.0 to 24.4%, because some effluent was removed from each silage before the feeding trial. The pH values of the silages were between 4.03 and 4.29. Goats were given sufficient silage to meet maintenance nitrogen requirements from napier grass silage. Silage C was not completely consumed, and the silage had low digestibilities of DM, CP, hemicellulose and cellulose. Nitrogen balance was slightly positive for goats consuming silage B and was negative for goats consuming silages A and C. Nitrogen utilization was discussed in terms of ruminal $NH_3-N$ and volatile fatty acid concentration in the rumen fluids. It is concluded that goats could not maintain N-equilibrium not only when a younger forage was consumed at a level of N requirement by a restricted feeding, but also when an older forage could not be consumed enough for N requirement because of feed intake limitation.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.697-701
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• 1998

In order to improve silage quality and utilization of napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) by goats, the grass was ensiled with molasses (MOL) and/or defatted rice bran (DRB). Napier grass was harvested at the growing stage in July and cut into 3 cm length. The grass was mixed with 4% MOL and/or 15% DRB, ensiled 15 kg each into plastic bags and stored for 9 months. Dry matter content of the silage ensiled with MOL (MOL-silage) was 13.4%, but increased to 20% with DRB addition. The addition of MOL decreased pH value and ammonia nitrogen content, but increased lactic acid content. MOL-silage contained about 6% spoilage, but addition of DRB decreased spoilage to less than 1%. Goats were fed the silage at a level of 2.25% (DM basis) of their body weight. Goats fed DRB- or MOL/DRB-silages maintained nitrogen retention, but goats fed MOL-silage did not. The rumen fluid of goats fed DRB-silage tended to be higher in acetic acid and lower in propionic acid than those fed the other silages. Ammonia in the rumen fluids, urea nitrogen in the blood and the urinary nitrogen excretion were the lowest in goats fed MOL/DRB-silage. As the result, the ratio of retained nitrogen to nitrogen intake was the highest in goats fed MOL/DRB-silage. In conclusion, addition of DRB to napier grass increased DM of silage and decreased the volume of spoilage. The combination of MOL and DRB can improve the fermentation quality and thus enhance the utilization of the silage by goats, more than the MOL or DRB being as a single treatment.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.507-513
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• 2006

Changes of in vitro true digestibility (IVTD) of Napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum) were determined by a filter bag system, and their relationships to chemical composition, leaf to stem ratio, plant height, geographic location, climatic factors and harvest interval were studied and used to develop prediction models for the crude protein (CP), acid-detergent fiber (ADF), and neutral-detergent fiber (NDF) contents and IVTD. Partitioning the total variance of IVTD of Napiergrass showed that 80% was attributable to the effect of harvest interval. Days of growth, plant height, leaf/stem ratio, CP, ADF and NDF of Napiergrass had highly significant relationships (p<0.01) with IVTD. The highest coefficient of correlation between the ADF, NDF, and IVTD of Napiergrass and growth degree days was obtained when the base temperature was set at $0^{\circ}C$. Growth degree days could predict ADF, NDF, and IVTD of Napiergrass more accurately than plant height, and plant height is not suitable to predict IVTD.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.8
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• pp.1063-1067
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• 2000

The effects of acremonium cellulase (AC) additive and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) inoculant on effluent production and aerobic stability of silage were investigated. Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum) was treated with AC at the rates of 0.05 ($AC_1$) and 0.1 g/kg $(AC_2)$ and/or with LAB at the rate of $1.0{\times}10^8cfu/kg$ fresh grass at ensiling. The treatments of LAB, $AC_1$, $AC_2$, $LAB+AC_1$ and $LAB+AC_2$ significantly (p<0.01) decreased pH and contents of volatile basic nitrogen and butyric acid, and significantly (p<0.01) increased lactic acid content compared with the control. All treated silages were well preserved with pH of lower than 4.2. There were no significant differences in fermentation quality between the application rates of AC ($AC_1$ and $AC_2$) and between the mixtures ($AC_1+LAB$ and $AC_2+LAB$). AC ($AC_1$ and $AC_2$) and AC plus LAB ($AC_1+LAB$ and $AC_2+LAB$) resulted in more silage effluent than the control and LAB inoculant alone. When the experimental silos were opened, the silages treated with AC and/or LAB were not as stable as the control silage, as shown by pH increase and lactic acid decomposition.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.11
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• pp.1599-1603
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• 2008

Sodium is involved in elevation of oxalate content in some plant species and this element is abundant in saline soils. Oxalate causes precipitation of insoluble calcium oxalate in the rumen and kidneys. The intention of this study was to evaluate the effect of soil salinity stress on dry matter yield and oxalate content in pot-grown napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schumach). Plants were cut three times at 56, 118 and 179 d after transplanting to the pots. Five salinity treatments were used containing various concentrations of NaCl solution as follows: 0, 100, 300, 600 and 900 mM. At 28, 42, 84, 98, 146 and 160 d after transplanting, plants were irrigated with one liter of the particular treatment for each application. Dry matter yield of napiergrass was not affected (p>0.05) by salinity treatments. Plants treated with 100 mM NaCl exhibited a higher soluble oxalate content compared to other treatments, but the differences were not statistically significant (p>0.05). Although salinity treatments had significant (p<0.05) effects on insoluble and total oxalate contents in plant tissue between the 100 and 900 mM NaCl treatments, the differences were too small to be considered biologically important. The present study indicates that where the soil is high in NaCl, napiergrass will tend to grow well and be low in oxalate.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.719-723
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• 2010

Ingestion of forage containing a large quantity of soluble oxalate can result in calcium deficiency and even death of livestock. Fertilization is one of the most practical and effective ways to improve yield and nutritional quality of forage. An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of nitrogen (N) fertilization (150, 300 and 600 kg/ha) across varying levels (150, 300 and 600 kg/ha) of potassium (K) on oxalate accumulation in napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum). Application of N at 300 kg/ha produced higher dry matter yield than at 150 or 600 kg/ha, while K fertilization had no effect on yield. In general, N fertilization did not affect the soluble and total oxalate contents, but slightly affected the insoluble oxalate content. Soluble oxalate content showed an increasing trend and insoluble oxalate content showed a decreasing trend with increasing K level, but total oxalate content remained relatively constant. There were significant interactions between N and K fertilization for the content of soluble and insoluble oxalate fractions. The greatest increase in soluble oxalate content with N level at 300 kg/ha was found at the high level (600 kg/ha) of K application. The greatest increase in insoluble oxalate content with N level at 600 kg/ha was found at the low level (150 kg/ha) of K application. These results indicated the possibility of controlling the content of soluble and insoluble oxalate fractions in forage by fertilization.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.823-829
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• 2003

Four different types of silage from new cultivars of Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum), cv. NG 1 and NG 2, were fed to eight wethers in order to evaluate their preference and intake by sheep. The silages were prepared from direct-cut NG 1 herbage; pre-wilted NG 1 herbage; NG 1 herbage with maize meal (5% inclusion) and NG 2 herbage with maize meal (5% inclusion). All silages were palatable to sheep. Maize-treated silage had high quality fermentation, characterized by high Fleig scores and low pH, volatile fatty acids (VFA) and ammoniacal nitrogen contents. The pH, Fleig score, in vitro digestible organic matter (IVDOMD) and ammoniacal-N contents for maize-treated cv. NG 1 silage were 3.7, 78, $540g\;kg^{-1}$ dry matter (DM ) and $0.18g\;kg^{-1}$ DM whereas, in maize-treated cv. NG 2 they were 3.6, 59, $^458g\;kg{-1}$ DM and $0.18g\;kg^-1$ DM, respectively. The superior quality of maize-treated silages made them more preferable to sheep. Among the maize-fortified silages, palatability and intake were significantly (p<0.001) greater with cv. NG 1. Although direct-cut silage had better fermentation quality compared to wilted silage, wilted silage was significantly (p<0.001) more preferable to sheep. However, there were no significant differences (p<0.05) in the levels of preference and intake of wilted silage compared to maize-treated cv. NG 2 silage, even though the latter tended to be more palatable. There were indications that high pH (4.6 vs 3.5) and IVDOMD content (476 vs $457g\;kg^{-1}%$ DM) of wilted silage contributed to higher intake, compared to direct-cut silage. It was generally concluded that pre-wilting and treatment of Napier grass with maize meal at ensiling enhances intake and palatability.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.947-950
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• 2001

To improve the low content of crude protein and low quality fermentation of napiergrass silage, ensiling with phasey bean was examined. Napiergrasses, (Pennisetum purpureum cv. Merkeron), hybrid napiergrass (Pennisetum purpureum${\times}$ Pennisetum typhoides) and phasey bean (Macroptilium lathyroides cv. Murray) were cultivated in Fukuoka, Japan. The first growth of napiergrasses and phasey bean were harvested at 90 days of age and chopped into about 1 cm lengths. The mixing levels of phasey bean with napiergrasses were 0, 25, 50 and 75; 700 g of plant materials were ensiled into a laboratory silo (1.0 litre. polyethylene container) and incubated for 30 days. After opening silos, pH, total nitrogen (TN), volatile basic nitrogen (VBN) and organic acids (lactic acid: LA, acetic acid: AA, butyric acid: BA) were determined. The experiment was a factorial design of $2{\times}4$ with 3 replicates. The data were analyzed statistically by two-way analysis of variance. Without inclusion of phasey bean, lower quality was observed for hybrid silage than for Merkeron silage. The inclusion of phasey bean at the rate of 25% increased DM and TN, and decreased pH value, VBN/TN, AA and BA in both Merkeron and hybrid napiergrass silages. The value of pH, TN, VBN/TN, AA and BA were not significantly different among 25, 50 and 75% mixing levels of phasey bean. LA production increased significantly with the increase in phasey bean mixing level in both hybrid and Merkeron silages. At all mixing levels of phasey bean, LA production did not show significant differences between Merkeron and hybrid silages.