Background Due to its hollow stem, ensiling triticale presents a challenge as it may cause an overabundance of oxygen during the fermentation process. This study investigated the effects of Bacillus coagulans (BC) and Lactobacillus plantarum (LP) on the fermentation characteristics, microbial community, and aerobic stability of ensiled triticale. Fresh triticale was wilted at a dry matter content of 350 g/kg. The experiment was arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial design, with both BC and commercial LP added at 0 or 1 × 10 6 cfu/g of fresh weight (FW) of chopped triticale. Results After 60 days of ensiling, the pH, water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and ammonia nitrogen (NH 3 -N) of inoculated groups were lower than those of the control group ( P < 0.05), especially in the LP + BC treatment ( P < 0.05). The lactic acid (LA) concentration, lactic acid/acetic acid (LA/AA), and aerobic stability were also higher ( P < 0.05) in the LP + BC treatment than in other treatments. The bacterial diversity was reduced, and the richness was increased by the application of LP and BC individually ( P < 0.05). Compared with the control silage, LP-treated silage had higher Lactobacillus ( P < 0.05), while BC-treated silage had higher Bacillus and Pediococcus ( P < 0.05). The LP + BC-treated silage had higher Lactobacillus , Bacillus , Enterococcus , and Serratia ( P < 0.05). Bacillus was negatively correlated with NDF ( P < 0.05) and AA ( P < 0.05). Lactobacillus was positively correlated with LA ( P < 0.05) and LA/AA but negatively with pH and NH 3 -N ( P < 0.05). Conclusions The combination of BC and LP may lead to improved ensiled triticale fermentation quality and aerobic stability by inducing alterations in the composition of bacterial communities, which is crucial for the efficient utilization of triticale resources. Graphical Abstract

Abstract The present study investigated the impact of L. plantarum and B. coagulans on the fermentation characteristics, microbial community, and aerobic stability of ensiled triticale. Fresh triticale was wilted at a dry matter content of 35%. The treatments were arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial design, with both Lactobacillus plantarum (LP) and Bacillus coagulans 21735(BC) added at 0 or 1 × 106 cfu/g of fresh forage (FW). After 60 d of ensiling, the pH, water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) of inoculated groups were lower than those of the control group (P < 0.05), especially in the LP + BC treatment (P < 0.05). The lactic acid (LA) concentration, lactic acid/acetic acid (LA/AA), and aerobic stability were also higher (P < 0.05) in the LP + BC treatment than in other treatments. The bacterial diversity was reduced, and the richness was increased by the application of LP and BC individually (P < 0.05). Compared with the control silage, LP-treated silage had higher Lactobacillus (P < 0.05), while BC-treated silage had higher Bacillus and Pediococcus (P < 0.05). The LP + BC-treated silage had higher Lactobacillus, Bacillus, Enterococcus and Serratia (P < 0.05). Bacillus was negatively associated with NDF (P < 0.05) and AA (P < 0.05). Lactobacillus was positively associated with LA (P < 0.05) and LA/AA but negatively with pH and NH3-N (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the combination of BC and LP may yield beneficial outcomes in terms of ensiled triticale fermentation quality and aerobic stability by inducing alterations in the composition of bacterial communities, which is crucial for the efficient utilization of triticale resources.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is the most valuable forage crop grown on approximately 30 m ha (74 million acres) worldwide. It is the third most valuable crop harvested in the U.S. behind only corn and soybeans. Alfalfa is widely recognized as a significant component of most dairy and other animal rations because of the multiple benefits it provides: Alfalfa adds valuable fiber, has a faster rate of fiber digestion than grasses, is very palatable, is high in protein, provides needed vitamins, is a good buffer in the rumen, and promotes animal health. In addition, it provides legume nitrogen credits and has rotational yield boost to following crops. It provides environmental benefits in soil remediation, reduced erosion (compared to row crops), and supports varied wildlife by being a source of cover and food from insects, spiders, mites, and earthworms. A major issue is low yield, where the record alfalfa yield in the U.S. is 26 t/a DM with irrigation in Arizona while the average alfalfa yield on a farm in the U.S. is about 4.5 tons/acre DM. The yield problem is a combination of environmental and management issues. Breeding objectives should continue to be resistance to diseases and insects. However, a major long-term direction should be to increase alfalfa yield. Possibly each of the following breeding objectives could contribute: raise limits to natural photosynthesis, reduce dark respiration, develop cultivars that have less leaf loss during harvest, and minimizing the impact of wheel traffic on stands. An additional breeding objective should be to increase the bypass protein of alfalfa. While this will not affect yield, it will increase alfalfa value to users.

Novel alfalfa varieties have been developed to have less lignin by genetic modification, (HarvXtra, Forage Genetics International) and by conventional breeding, (HiGest 360, Alforex Seeds). Second crop (d 29) of these alfalfas and a control, LegenDairy XHD (Winfield Solutions LLC), were harvested as high moisture wrapped bales (45.9–51.6 % DM) at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station (AARS) located near Arlington, WI, on July 5, 2017. The objectives of these experiments were to characterize novel reduced-lignin alfalfa varieties, assess their effects on growth of beef steers, and determine digestibilities using a total fecal collection trial. Treatments were fed ad libitum as alfalfa baleage to 300 kg (initial weight) black-hided beef steers, (n = 72, 4 pens/treatment, 83 d). Steers were fed solely alfalfa baleage and offered a trace mineral salt block by way of fence line feed bunks. Alfalfa lignin values were 7.56, 7.18, and 6.3% DM (P = 0.34) for LegenDairy, HiGest and HarvXtra, respectively. Steers gained 0.94, 1.00, and 1.07 kg hd-1 d-1 (P = 0.25) for LegenDairy, HiGest and HarvXtra, respectively. The same harvested alfalfa was used in a total collection fecal trial with fecal collection bags (Table 1). Numerical differences between alfalfa digestibilities were observed but no significant treatment effects were detected. Total tract NDF digestibilities (TTNDFD) for harvested alfalfas were 33.9, 35.0 and 40.3 % NDF (P = 0.079) for LegenDairy, HiGest and HarvXtra, respectively. Alfalfa lignin concentration differences were not detected through acid detergent-lignin analysis of harvested bales. While the ranking of lignin concentrations, digestibilities, and growth rates followed prevailing logic, alfalfa variety treatment effects were not detected. Experimental designs with greater sensitivity should be implemented in the future.

Resilient, stable, and productive forage systems are needed to endure increasingly frequent climatic extremes. Resilience is the ability of a forage system to withstand a climatic crisis with high yields, stability is the minimal variability of yields across normal years, and productivity is the average yield across normal years. The goal of this research was to quantify resilience, stability, and productivity of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) cultivars to identify superior ones. Forage yield means from alfalfa cultivar trials from 11 US states and one Canadian province over 19 yr (1995–2013) were analyzed using linear mixed models. Locations with an extreme crisis year were identified, and quantitative measures for resilience and stability for each cultivar were calculated. Productivity, stability, and resilience were different among cultivars across locations, showing that some cultivars were consistently superior for each variable. Cultivar stability was not associated with productivity, and it was negatively associated with disease resistance. Cultivar resilience was negatively associated with productivity, and not associated with other traits. Cultivar productivity has increased with year of release of cultivar, stability has not changed, and resilience has decreased. Therefore, stability and resilience are different dimensions, explained by different traits. A coordinated evaluation effort across locations is needed to test and improve cultivar resilience in the future, and develop alfalfa cultivars more profitable for the long term.

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) growers are faced with the recurring dilemma of having to balance yield and forage quality when harvesting their alfalfa crop. Yield increases while digestibility decreases as the plant matures, primarily because of increasing lignin content in the stems. A consortium of scientists at Forage Genetics International, The Samuel Robert Noble Foundation and U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center collaborated to alter the lignin content in alfalfa through genetic modification, resulting in the recent commercial release of the HarvXtra (R) alfalfa brand. A number of alfalfa varieties having the reduced lignin HarvXtra (R) trait are being marketed. Reducing the lignin content in alfalfa should extend the time interval when forage can be harvested and still maintain adequate nutritive value for ruminants with high nutritive requirements. Field trials were established in 6 states (KS, MI, OH, PA, CA, and WI) in spring 2015 to evaluate yield and nutritive value over time of the transgenic HarvXtra-008 alfalfa variety compared with 2 other varieties (one selected for high quality and one for high yield). Forage samples were collected over time during 2 growth cycles in 2015 and analyzed for nutritive value. Forage yield and nutritive value were also evaluated under 28, 33, and 38-day cutting intervals in 2015. Across all 6 states in the seeding year, HarvXtra-008 forage had consistently lower neutral detergent fiber (-2 to -3.8 units of NDF), lower acid detergent lignin (-1 unit of ADL), and higher NDF digestibility (+4.2 to +5.4 units of NDFD) compared with the other alfalfa varieties. This represents a 7 to 10 day advantage in nutritive value for HarvXtra-008. When cut on the 38-day schedule, HarvXtra-008 yielded similarly or more and often had higher nutritive value than the other varieties cut more frequently on 33- or 28-day schedules. Results with HarvXtra-008 from the first year are promising for alfalfa growers who want to maintain high forage nutritive value while increasing forage yields with less frequent harvests. More years of data will show how harvest interval affects nutritive value, yield, stand persistence, and profitability of alfalfa with the reduced lignin transgenic trait.

Once a good stand of alfalfa has been established, continued production and stand life depends on good management practices, which include maintaining soil nutrients, applying manure judiciously, and irrigating properly. The following article is a section from the revised (2015) Alfalfa Management Guide , which is available for purchase here: www.societystore.org . Earn 1 CEU in Nutrient Management by reading this article and completing the quiz at www.certifiedcropadviser.org/certifications/self‐study/771 .

Crop, Forage & Turfgrass ManagementVolume 2, Issue 1 cftm2015.0203 p. 1-3 Forage & Grazinglands—Brief Estimating Alfalfa Yield from Plant Height Tana Lyons, Tana Lyons Winfield Solutions, Ames, IA, 50010Search for more papers by this authorDan Undersander, Corresponding Author Dan Undersander daniel.undersander@ces.uwex.edu Dep. of Agronomy, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706Corresponding author (daniel.undersander@ces.uwex.edu).Search for more papers by this authorRandy Welch, Randy Welch Winfield Solutions, Madison, WI, 53719Search for more papers by this authorDerek Donnelly, Derek Donnelly Winfield Solutions, Madison, WI, 53719Search for more papers by this author Tana Lyons, Tana Lyons Winfield Solutions, Ames, IA, 50010Search for more papers by this authorDan Undersander, Corresponding Author Dan Undersander daniel.undersander@ces.uwex.edu Dep. of Agronomy, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706Corresponding author (daniel.undersander@ces.uwex.edu).Search for more papers by this authorRandy Welch, Randy Welch Winfield Solutions, Madison, WI, 53719Search for more papers by this authorDerek Donnelly, Derek Donnelly Winfield Solutions, Madison, WI, 53719Search for more papers by this author First published: 14 July 2016 https://doi.org/10.2134/cftm2015.0203Citations: 4 All rights reserved. Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article.Citing Literature Volume2, Issue1December 2016Pages 1-3 RelatedInformation

High forage quality is key to good levels of milk production. Frequent forage analysis is an absolute must; however, several on-farm assessments of forage quality and/or forage quality change can be made to suggest that forages should be retested and rations rebalanced. This paper suggests several new technologies that can be matched with forage testing to better provide consistent, high quality feed to the milking dairy cow. Starting at mowing, forage quality only declines from cutting to feeding, so it is important to cut when the alfalfa or grass is at high quality, as estimated by plant height. Forage quality can be estimated by attachments to choppers and balers. Silage moisture changes content of silage on the face of a tube or bunker changes daily and must be adjusted for. We should recognize heating as an energy loss and take steps to reduce it in future harvests. Similarly, mold should be monitored and attempts made to reduce it in future forage storage.

The economic injury level for potato leafhopper, Empoasca fabae (Harris), in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) was developed over 30 yr ago. In response to increasing market value of alfalfa, farmers and consultants are interested in reducing the economic threshold for potato leafhopper in alfalfa. To address this question, caged field trials were established on two consecutive potato leafhopper susceptible crops in 2013. Field cages were infested with a range of potato leafhopper densities to create a linear regression of alfalfa yield response. The slopes, or yield loss per insect, for the linear regressions of both trials were used to calculate an economic injury level for a range of current alfalfa market values and control costs. This yield-loss relationship is the first quantification that could be used to help assess whether the economic threshold should be lowered, given the increased market value of alfalfa.

Maize (Zea mays L.) silage is by far the preferred choice for dairy producers in the U.S. North Central Region due to its high biomass yield and quality and relative ease of converting to silage. It is also the preferred choice for biogas production. Finding alternative feedstocks for silage and biogas other than maize is important to have a more resilient production system. The objective of this study was to compare monocultures and mixed cultures of maize and forage sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) to determine the most resilient production system in the Region. Experiments were conducted in Carrington, Fargo, and Prosper, ND, in 2013 and in Fargo, ND, in 2014. The experimental design was a RCBD with three replicates. Maize for both silage and grain and two forage sorghum (FS) cultivars (Non-BMR and BMR) were grown in monoculture and in mixtures (maize-sorghum). Mixed cultures included 4 row-intercropping and 4 within-row intercropping treatments. Results across locations and years indicated; biomass yield fluctuated between 12.8 to 17.7 Mg/ha and biogas yield between 12,100 to 16,100 m(3)/ha. Non-BMR FS monocultures produced similar or higher biomass yield compared with maize monocultures and maize-FS mixed cultures. Biogas yield produced by non-BMR FS monocultures, and mixtures containing non-BMR FS were similar to that of grain or silage maize. In conclusion, within-row and inter-row intercropping of FS with maize is a promising alternative to maize silage in the North Central region.

Hay producers working in humid environments are wellacquainted with the consequences of baling moist hays, which include heating, molding, losses of dry matter (DM) and nutritive value, and the possibility of spontaneous combustion. These problems are initiated through respiration by active plant cells and/or microorganisms associated with the hay that consume plant sugars in the presence of oxygen to yield carbon dioxide, water, and heat:

During the storage of hay or haylage, heating damage may occur and lead to losses of available protein and digestible nutrients. Recent research indicates that losses of total digestible nutrients (TDN) may be more significant economically than losses of available protein. Our objectives for this study were to establish a near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) model to estimate losses of TDN caused by heating damage during storage, to test the model on farmer samples obtained from commercial forage testing laboratories, and then to determine the frequency with which significant losses of TDN occurred within these producer samples. Hay/haylage samples from wrapped bales harvested with moisture ranges of 9.3 to 17.3%, 16.8 to 24.2%, and 26.7 to 46.6% for three different harvests in a previous study in which internal bale temperatures were measured daily were utilized to develop a NIRS calibration. The model external validation coefficient of determination (R2) was 0.88. The calibration was tested on three unknown sets of samples from commercial forage testing laboratories. The three sets contained spectra of 1000, 618, and 1994 forage samples submitted by producers. A very small number of samples in Sets 1, 2, and 3 exhibited H values > 3 (21, 11, and 66 samples, respectively), which indicates that the developed equation was appropriate for use on the commercial samples. The predicted TDN losses from producer samples due to heating exceeded 4 TDN units in 50% of the samples, and exceeded 8 TDN units in 16% of the samples. Heat damage is a significant economic loss to many farmers.

Understanding the relationship between alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L.) yield and nutritive value throughout the growing season will permit optimum timing of harvest. Our objective was to determine the rate at which alfalfa yield and fiber components change during each of four harvest periods. In spring, early summer, late summer, and fall of 2004 and 2005 at Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Idaho, primary growth of three alfalfa cultivars was initially harvested at late vegetative stage and every 5 d thereafter for 20 d. Forage dry matter (DM) yield, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and in vitro neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD) were measured at each harvest. Rate of DM production of all cultivars was greatest both years during the spring at Pennsylvania (222.5 and 702.2 kg ha −1 d −1 , respectively) and early summer at Wisconsin (83.4 and 278.8 kg ha −1 d −1 , respectively), and in early and late summer at Idaho (198.4 and 194.4 kg DM ha −1 d −1 , respectively, in 2005 only). The rate of increase in NDF was generally greatest during spring at Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and during early summer at Idaho, while the rate of decrease in NDFD was generally greatest during early summer at all locations. The results suggest that the negative association between yield and nutritive value has greatest impact on timing of harvests made in spring and early summer in humid environments, and in early and late summer in more arid regions.

Roundup Ready (RR) alfalfa is the first perennial forage species commercially released with a genetically modified trait (GMO). While not needed by all farmers who grow alfalfa, RR alfalfa may allow some farmers to more effectively establish alfalfa and control certain weed problems.

The contribution of hard seed to alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) stand establishment has not been clearly defined. A study was established at three locations (Arlington and West Salem, WI, and Napier, IA) to examine the effect of the proportion of hard seed in alfalfa seed lots at time of planting on time of seed emergence and yield. In each of two years scarified and un-scarified seed lots with either low, medium, or high proportions of hard seed from four commercially available alfalfa cultivars were planted under field conditions. Alfalfa emergence was monitored during the following months for a year. Seventy percent of the unscarified seed emerged within 2 weeks, 6% in 2 to 4 weeks, 3% at 8 weeks, and none after that. No seedlings emerged the spring after sowing. Scarification increased (P ≤ 0.05) slightly the number of seedlings that emerged within 2 weeks but did not affect overall establishment. In a second study, treatments were sown at 12 lb pure live seed/acre in small plots and yield measured at each of the three locations. Level of hard seed and seed scarification had no effect on yield in the seeding year or the year after. Hard seed contributes to alfalfa stand establishment similarly to other alfalfa seed.

We determined the change in forage quality of two reduced lignin transgenic alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) populations, compared to appropriate controls and grown in diverse environments. Harvests were taken beginning at late vegetative stage and continued at 5 day intervals for 5 total harvests. Forage samples were analyzed for crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent lignin, and neutral detergent fiber digestibility (NDFD). In this study, late harvested COMT and CCOMT lines had the same NDFD as the nulls or commercial check harvested 8 to 12 days earlier. Producers using this trait may be able to delay harvest while maintaining forage quality, potentially eliminating one or more annual harvests and while increasing yield by 20 to 30%.