Maize silage genotype and ruminant digestion

Abstract

Maize breeding objectives have for a long time been limited to agronomic criteria, but a high variability in nutritive value for ruminants is also observed among hybrids. Nowadays breeding takes into account the effect of chemical composition in the modification of maize nutritional value. The amount and composition of whole plant cell walls, especially their lignification, influences both digestibility and voluntary intake when maize is given as silage. Starch, the main constituent of grain, is degraded slowly in the rumen, and differences among genotypes exist. Among normal maize hybrids, the differences are mainly related to grain vitreousness.