Teff grass can be cultivated in a short growing period and is soft in texture. The present study was conducted to investigate the dry matter yield and, silage fermentation characteristics of teff grass cultivated in Kyushu, Japan, as well as its dry matter intake characteristics and ruminal fermentation in Japanese Black cows. The dry matter yield of the cultivated teff grass was 361 kg/10 a with a 40-day growing period. The teff grass silage showed fermentation characteristics typical of wilted grass silage, with a high pH (5.07), a lower acetic acid concentration than lactic acid, and a V-score value of 94 points. The dry matter intake of teff grass silage by animals was higher than that of control Sudangrass silage, and feeding on teff grass silage resulted in an increased concentration of acetate in the rumen fluid. These findings suggest that teff grass grown in the Kyushu region has high potential as roughage with higher voluntary intake for cattle.

We evaluated the effect of feeding early-harvested first- or second-cut orchardgrass silage on dry matter intake, lactation, digestion, and N utilization in dairy cows. Six multiparous Holstein cows were used in a replicated 3×3 Latin square design with three dietary treatments. The diets involved gradually replacing first-cut silage with second-cut silage, flaked corn, or soybean meal at two incremental levels of 50% and 100%. All experimental diets contained 73% total digestible nutrients and 16% crude protein. The dry matter intake and milk production were not affected by the dietary treatment. However, fiber digestibility decreased with increasing second-cut silage, and milk fat content slightly decreased when the first-cut silage was replaced by the second-cut. Milk protein production was not affected by dietary treatment. Proportional to N intake, urinary N excretion increased; retention of N decreased with increasing levels of second-cut silage. No dietary effects were observed on N secretion in milk and fecal N excretion. These results showed that feeding second-cut silage instead of first-cut reduces fiber digestibility and N utilization, but this diet has a minor impact on feed intake and milk production when diets were formulated to contain 73% total digestible nutrient and 16% crude protein.

Festulolium and ryegrasses are excellent grasses; however, many individuals do not survive through the summer and die. In this study, we determined the substances present in Festulolium, Italian ryegrass, and perennial ryegrass in order to determine which individuals can over-summer. Our results indicated that over-summering was enhanced by high levels of α- and γ-tocopherol in the stems and leaves of three grass species, respectively.