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Alpha‐tocopherol and β‐carotene in legume–grass mixtures as influenced by wilting, ensiling and type of silage additive
Author(s) -
Lindqvist H.,
Nadeau E.,
Jensen S. K.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
grass and forage science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1365-2494
pISSN - 0142-5242
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2494.2011.00827.x
Subject(s) - red clover , silage , microbial inoculant , wilting , dry matter , carotene , legume , forage , chemistry , tocopherol , zoology , agronomy , biology , food science , inoculation , horticulture , vitamin e , antioxidant , biochemistry
Effects of wilting, ensiling and type of additive on α‐tocopherol and β‐carotene contents in legume–grass mixtures were examined. Swards of birdsfoot trefoil + timothy (Bft + Ti), red clover + timothy (Rc + Ti) and red clover + meadow fescue (Rc + Mf) were harvested as a first regrowth in August 2005. Forage was wilted to a dry‐matter (DM) content of 273 g kg −1 and ensiled without additive or with an inoculant or acid. Wilting decreased α‐tocopherol concentration by 30% in the Bft + Ti mixture ( P = 0·015). Untreated Bft + Ti silage had higher α‐tocopherol content than red clover silages (56·9 vs. 34·2 mg kg −1 DM; P = 0·015). The α‐tocopherol concentration of Bft + Ti forages increased during ensiling from 41·1 mg kg −1 DM in wilted herbage to 56·9, 65·2 and 56·8 mg kg −1 DM in untreated, inoculated and acid‐treated silage respectively ( P = 0·015). The inoculant increased α‐tocopherol content in the red clover silages (50·1 vs. 34·2 mg kg −1 DM; P = 0·015) compared with untreated red clover silages. Red clover mixtures had lower β‐carotene content than Bft + Ti (32·3 vs. 46·2 mg kg −1 DM; P = 0·016), averaged over treatments. In conclusion, wilting had small effects but the use of bacterial inoculant as an additive and a Bft + Ti mixture increased α‐tocopherol concentration in the silage.