Forage yield, chemical composition and in vitro gas production of triticale varieties (x Triticosecale Wittmack) preserved by silage or hay

Alternatives to good quality forages for animal feeding include small grain cereals such as triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack), which presents environmental tolerance and acceptable nutritional value. The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the forage yield, the chemical composition and in vitro gas production of three varieties of triticale (UAEMex, Bicentennial and Siglo XXI), by two conservation method (ensiled or hay). A completely randomized design with three replicates per treatment was used. The Siglo XXI variety got more forage (P < 0.0001) in both fresh and dry matter than the other treatments. There were differences (P < 0.05) between varieties, UAEMex presenting higher content of organic matter (OM 906 g/kg DM) and crude protein (CP, 156 g/kg DM) (P < 0.05), and Bicentennial and Siglo XXI presenting higher content acid detergent lignin (ADL, 72.3 ± 0.3 g/ kg DM). Higher quantities of dry matter (DM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and ADL in the hay method (P < 0.05) were observed compared to the silage method. The hay preservation method produced higher values fordigestible OM (OMD, 838 g/kg DM), metabolizable energy (ME,MJ/kg DM) and short chain fatty acids (SCFA) in comparison with silage. The variety UAEMex had higher OMD, ME, GY24h and SCFA than the other treatments. Siglo XXI and the silage method showed higher milk yield (kg milk/ ha) (P < 0.005). It was concluded that the triticale variety Siglo XXI was superior to the other varieties by their forage and milk yield potential production, the silage conservation method presented greater fermentation than hay treatmen