Silage of Intercropping Corn, Palisade Grass, and Pigeon Pea Increases Protein Content and Reduces In Vitro Methane Production

Ligoski, Beatriz; Gonçalves, Lucas Ferreira; Claudio, Flavio Lopes; Alves, Estenio Moreira; Krüger, Ana Maria; Bizzuti, Beatriz Elisa; Lima, Paulo de Mello Tavares; Abdalla, Adibe Luiz; Paim, Tiago do Prado

doi:10.3390/agronomy10111784

Open AccessArticle

Silage of Intercropping Corn, Palisade Grass, and Pigeon Pea Increases Protein Content and Reduces In Vitro Methane Production

by

Beatriz Ligoski

¹,

Lucas Ferreira Gonçalves

¹,

Flavio Lopes Claudio

²,

Estenio Moreira Alves

²

,

Ana Maria Krüger

³,

Beatriz Elisa Bizzuti

³,

Paulo de Mello Tavares Lima

³,

Adibe Luiz Abdalla

³ and

Tiago do Prado Paim

^2,*

¹

Animal Sciences, Goiano Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology Campus Rio Verde, Rio Verde, GO 75909-120, Brazil

²

Animal Production Laboratory, Goiano Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology Campus Iporá, Iporá, GO 76200-000, Brazil

³

Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura—CENA, Universidade de São Paulo—USP, Piracicaba, SP 134160-000, Brazil

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Agronomy 2020, 10(11), 1784; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10111784

Submission received: 11 October 2020 / Revised: 29 October 2020 / Accepted: 2 November 2020 / Published: 13 November 2020

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Potential Roles of Forage Silage in Sustainable Agricultural Production)

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Abstract

Legume–grass intercropping systems are a sustainable option to improve nutritional quality of animal feed and decrease livestock greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, the present study evaluated yield, chemical composition and in vitro gas production of silages produced with intercropped palisade grass (Urochloa brizantha.(A.Rich.) R.D.Webster), pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan cv. Super N) and corn (Zea mays. L.). Forage was harvested and placed inside micro-silos, which were opened after 100 days and samples were collected for chemical composition and in vitro gas production analyses. Intercropped silage had higher crude protein, acid detergent fiber, and lignin content than corn silage. Moreover, intercropped silage decreased total gas and methane production. Therefore, intercropped silage showed potential to increase conserved feed nutritional quality and reduce methane emissions in livestock production systems.

Keywords: Cajanus cajan; CH₄; legume; Urochloa brizantha

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MDPI and ACS Style

Ligoski, B.; Gonçalves, L.F.; Claudio, F.L.; Alves, E.M.; Krüger, A.M.; Bizzuti, B.E.; Lima, P.d.M.T.; Abdalla, A.L.; Paim, T.d.P. Silage of Intercropping Corn, Palisade Grass, and Pigeon Pea Increases Protein Content and Reduces In Vitro Methane Production. Agronomy 2020, 10, 1784. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10111784

AMA Style

Ligoski B, Gonçalves LF, Claudio FL, Alves EM, Krüger AM, Bizzuti BE, Lima PdMT, Abdalla AL, Paim TdP. Silage of Intercropping Corn, Palisade Grass, and Pigeon Pea Increases Protein Content and Reduces In Vitro Methane Production. Agronomy. 2020; 10(11):1784. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10111784

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ligoski, Beatriz, Lucas Ferreira Gonçalves, Flavio Lopes Claudio, Estenio Moreira Alves, Ana Maria Krüger, Beatriz Elisa Bizzuti, Paulo de Mello Tavares Lima, Adibe Luiz Abdalla, and Tiago do Prado Paim. 2020. "Silage of Intercropping Corn, Palisade Grass, and Pigeon Pea Increases Protein Content and Reduces In Vitro Methane Production" Agronomy 10, no. 11: 1784. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10111784

APA Style

Ligoski, B., Gonçalves, L. F., Claudio, F. L., Alves, E. M., Krüger, A. M., Bizzuti, B. E., Lima, P. d. M. T., Abdalla, A. L., & Paim, T. d. P. (2020). Silage of Intercropping Corn, Palisade Grass, and Pigeon Pea Increases Protein Content and Reduces In Vitro Methane Production. Agronomy, 10(11), 1784. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10111784

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Silage of Intercropping Corn, Palisade Grass, and Pigeon Pea Increases Protein Content and Reduces In Vitro Methane Production

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