Author(s)

Peng Wang, Kousaku Souma, Hideki Okamoto, Satomi Kin, Akane Sugita, Akihiro Furudate, Chihiro Sato, Akio Nibe, Yimin Cai, Takayoshi Masuko

College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
Faculty of Bio-Business Management and Information, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan.
Faculty of Bioindustry, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Hokkaido, Japan.
Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Science, Ibaraki, Japan.
Pioneer Hi-Bred Japan Co. Ltd., Hokkaido Branch, Hokkaido, Japan.
Tenpoku Branch, Hokkaido Prefectural Kamikawa Agricultural Experiment Station (Currently Tenpoku Sub Station, Kamikawa Agricultural Experiment Station, Hokkaido Research Organization), Hokkaido, Japan; Central Agricultural Experiment Station, Hokkaido Research Organi-zation (Currently), Hokkaido, Japan.
Tenpoku Branch, Hokkaido Prefectural Kamikawa Agricultural Experiment Station (Currently Tenpoku Sub Station, Kamikawa Agricultural Experiment Station, Hokkaido Research Organization), Hokkaido, Japan.

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of potassium fertilizer (standard (S) and high (H) levels) on water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content of timothy (Phleum pratense L.), silage fermentation, nutritive values, and nutrient intake. The silage treatments were as follows: S level without inoculant (SC), S level plus inoculant (SI), H level without inoculant (HC), and H level plus inoculant (HI). The K content was increased by 14.5% in timothy grown with the H level compared with the S level. The WSC contents of the S and H treatments were 75.9 and 66.1 g·kg^-1 dry matter (DM), respectively. The silage fermentation quality was low with both SC and HC treatments. The addition of inoculant significantly improved the fermentation quality in SI and HI treatments. The addition increased the DM and organic matter digestibilities of silage. The total digestible nutrient (TDN) content of silage was highest with the HI treatment. The DM, TDN, and digestible energy intakes with the SI and HI treatments were improved compared with the SC and HC treatments, respectively. This study demonstrated negligible effects of K fertilizer levels and significant effects of the lactic acid bacteria inoculant on the fermentation quality, nutritive values, and feed intake of silage.

Feed Intake; Fermentation Quality; Nutritive Value; Potassium Fertilizer; Timothy Silage

Wang, P. , Souma, K. , Okamoto, H. , Kin, S. , Sugita, A. , Furudate, A. , Sato, C. , Nibe, A. , Cai, Y. and Masuko, T. (2014) Effects of Potassium Fertilizer on Water-Soluble Carbohydrate Content of Timothy (Phleum pratense L.), Silage Fermentation, Nutritive Values, and Nutrient Intake. American Journal of Plant Sciences, 5, 1030-1038. doi: 10.4236/ajps.2014.57115.