Nutritional value of ten earless corn hybrids used for silage

Background: corn plant silage is characterized by its high nutritional value and high energy content. However, it is important to determine corn silage characteristics that affect its nutritional value, such as the cell wall constituents. Objective: the objective of this experiment was to evaluate the chemical-bromatological composition and apparent digestibility of 10 corn hybrids (DK265bm3, DK265, HS5, HS6, HTV2, HTV27, Anjou285, Mexxal, Pistachio and Buxxil). Methods: the hybrids were planted at INRA (Unité of Génétique Amélioration des Plantes Fourragères, Lusignan, France) in an area of 150 m2. The experiment was conducted in triplicate. All evaluations were conducted in whole corn plants without ears. Results: the DK265bm3 hybrids presented the best values for enzymatic solubility and cell wall digestibility; it was associated with reduced cell wall KL and esterified p-coumaric acid content compared with the other hybrids. The corn hybrids were evaluated before ensilage using Near Infrared Spectrometry, and a significant difference for chemical composition was found among treatments. Conclusion: DK265bm3 showed superior digestibility of DM, OM, cellulose, NDF and IVDMD compared to the other hybrids