Diets varying in ratio of sweet sorghum silage to corn silage for lactating dairy cows: Feed intake, milk production, blood biochemistry, ruminal fermentation, and ruminal microbial community

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of partial substitution of corn silage (CS) with sweet sorghum silage (SS) in the diets of lactating dairy cows on dry matter (DM) intake, milk yield and composition, blood biochemistry, and ruminal fermentation and microbial community. Thirty mid-lactation Holstein dairy cows [mean +/- standard deviation; 639 +/- 42.0 kg of body weight; 112 +/- 24.0 d in milk (DIM)] were assigned to 3 groups (n = 10/treatment) by considering parity, milk yield, and DIM. The cows were fed ad libitum total mixed rations containing 55% forage and 45% concentrate, with only the proportion of CS and SS varying in 3 treatments (DM basis): SSO (0% substitution of CS), 40% CS and 0% SS; SS25 (25% substitution of CS), 30% CS and 10% SS; and SS50 (50% substitution of CS), 20% CS and 20% SS. Dry matter intake and milk protein concentration tended to linearly decrease with increasing proportion of SS in the diet. Yields of milk (mean +/- standard deviation, 30.9 +/- 1.12 kg/d), 4% fat-corrected milk (30.0 +/- 0.81 kg/d), energy-corrected milk, milk protein, lactose, and total solids, concentrations of milk fat, lactose, somatic cell counts, and milk efficiency did not differ among diets. The concentrations in blood of urea nitrogen, phosphorus, aspartate aminotransferase, and malondialdehyde linearly increased with increasing SS proportion. Blood IgA decreased with increasing SS substitution rate, but blood IgG and IgM were not different among diets. Ruminal pH did not differ among diets, whereas ruminal NH3-N concentration quadratically changed such that it was greater for SS50 than for SSO and SS25. Molar proportions of propionate and acetate to propionate ratio were less for SS25 than for SSO. Although the diversity and general ruminal microbial community structure were not altered by partially replacing CS with SS, the relative abundances of predominant bacteria were affected by diets at the phylum and genus levels. Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were dominant phyla in the ruminal bacterial community for all diets, and their relative abundance linearly decreased and increased, respectively, with increasing SS substitution rate. Pre-votella_1 and Ruminococcaceae_NK4A214_group were detected as the most and the second most abundant genera, with their relative abundance linearly increased and decreased, respectively, with increasing SS substitution rate. The relative abundance of Fibrobacter linearly increased with increasing dietary SS proportion, with greater abundance observed for SS25 and SS50 than for SS0. These results suggest that substitution of CS with SS altered the relative abundances of some predominant bacteria; however, these changes had little effect on ruminal fermentation and milk yield. Under the current experimental conditions, substituting up to 50% of CS with SS had no negative effects on milk yield, indicating that SS can partially replace CS in the diets of high-producing lactating dairy cows without adding extra grain, when diets are fed for a short time. As the effects of substituting CS with SS depend upon the chemical composition and digestibility of these silages and the nutrient requirements of the cows, additional grain may be required in some cases to compensate for the lower starch content of SS.

Automated summary

The study revealed that substituting part of CS with SS altered the relative abundances of some dominant bacteria, but had minimal impact on ruminal fermentation and milk yield.