Determination of the feed value, digestibility, and in vitro gas production of high-moisture corn grain silage

This study aimed to determine the feed value, digestibility, in vitro gas, and methane production of high-moisture corn grain silage prepared on a private farm. The nutrient content and silage quality of corn grain silage were determined. Hohenheim gas technique was used to determine the gas production of the silage, and the Daisy incubator was used to determine the in vitro true digestibility (IVTD). The findings revealed that high-moisture corn grain silage had a dry matter content (DM) of 66.67%, with 8.55% crude protein (CP), 3.81% crude fiber (CF), 3.19% ether extract (EE), 83.43% nitrogen-free extract (NFE), 8.20% neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and 2.38% acid detergent fiber (ADF) on a dry matter basis. The silage quality was classified as "Excellent" based on total and Flieg scoring methods. In vitro gas production increased during incubation, with negligible change after 48 hours. Methane production was 12.96 ml, with an in vitro true digestibility (IVTD) of 93.39%, metabolizable energy (ME) content of 13.42 MJ/kg DM, and potential gas production of 95.53 ml/hour. Due to its acidic structure, it has a reducing effect on enteric methane production. As a result, it is recommended that high-moisture corn grain silage, which has a higher digestibility and nutritional values than corn grain, should not be considered as a roughage source because it resembles concentrated feeds and should be given to ruminants together with another roughage source. However, its effects on animal performance should be investigated through in vivo studies.